


Chasing Fire

by TinyCurlyFry



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Awkward Flirting, F/F, Human AU, M/M, humantale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-24 23:25:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6170815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyCurlyFry/pseuds/TinyCurlyFry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans is a little too protective over Papyrus for his own good, and ends up tailing him on a double date. However, he suddenly finds himself distracted by the hot waiter working there. Sans becomes drawn to him like a moth to a flame, unable to resist paying a few more visits to the eatery. It isn't long before he realizes he's past the point of no-return.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Light my Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing any form of romance at all so we'll see how well this actually turns out.

Sans let out a long sigh, dwelling on the fact that he was the embodiment of the “protective older brother” cliche. Here he was, driving downtown after sundown so he could keep an eye on his brother during his “date”. Date is in quotation marks because Sans even knew it could hardly be called that. He should be trying to get to sleep by now, but noooo, Papyrus had come home early that day and informed Sans that he had promised Undyne he would have her back on her first date with a new girl she met. So Papyrus was going on a double date with Undyne, her date, and her date’s friend. Sans knew it was entirely unlikely for anything remotely bad to happen to his brother. Nothing ever happens on double dates, it was almost a universal fact. It was kind of the point of them: to keep things from either escalating or deteriorating. But, Papyrus didn’t know this other person at all, Sans supposed that was what was worrying him. Being there as moral support for Undyne was his top, and pretty much only, priority. Papyrus had no dating experience whatsoever, Sans had never seen him express romantic feelings for someone. Well, he supposed Papyrus could have in the past and just didn’t _tell_ Sans, but he liked to believe Papyrus was pretty open with him. 

So, here he was, tapping along with “Wannabe” on the steering wheel as he neared the eatery, because he was worried about his brother on this innocent, “not-really a date” of his. It was embarrassing to think about, really. There were so many things that could go wrong, the biggest being the risk of Papyrus actually spotting him staking out the double date. Sans took a deep breath as he parked the car in the parking lot illuminated by old neon letters that read “Grillby’s _grill and bar_ ”. Was he really _that_ brother from all those countless of tv shows? The one that would cause great embarrassment for both him and his sibling due to the ridiculous “older brother instinct”? A slight grin crack on Sans’ face. Heck yeah he was.

He had to admit, Undyne had damn good taste in food; The aroma wafting through the place was enough to make Sans salivate. Greasy food was always a guilty pleasure of Sans’.

A cheerful voice piped, pulling Sans’ out of his thoughts. “Welcome to Grillby’s! How are you doing tonight?”

Sans dug his hands deep into his pockets, “oh… uhh… fine. Thanks.”

“Am I getting you a table for one, or would you like a seat at the bar?”

Sans glanced at the bar that was against the left wall, and damn it if he wasn’t tempted by the decorative bottles lined up in perfect order on the shelves. Sans resisted the urge to sigh; It was far too much in the open. This was an operation of stealth after all. He had a job to do tonight, and drinking on the job was against the rules. “Table for one.” He mumbled.

“Alright! Right this way, sir!”

Man, Sans knew it was her job to do so, but he couldn’t help but feel extremely awkward with all this perkiness. He certainly hoped the rest of the night wouldn’t involve him actually talking to people as much as this. He was running off the fumes of his capability to ‘socialize’.  
Once the girl had seated him and had quickly made her leave back towards the entrance, Sans immediately began to scan the room for Undyne’s blazing red-dyed hair and the curly burnt umber of his brother’s. 

It really seemed like a nice place; Sans made a mental note to come back sometime in the future. The combination of dark wood furniture and just enough lighting inside gave the place a relaxed, warm feeling that he appreciated. A small stage was centered against the back wall, manned by a younger guy with sunglasses and green hair. Much to Sans’ amusement there was a chalkboard propped up on the dj’s table with white stars surrounding the words “Karaoke Night”.

Sans spotted the group he was looking for at a square table stationed along the windows on the opposite side. Undyne had a wide grin on as she talked to the small blonde across from her. The girl seemed shy and nervous, but it was clear to Sans that she certainly wasn’t disinterested in whatever Undyne was saying. The girl was leaned in, smiling frequently as Undyne spoke. Papyrus seemed happy too, following along enthusiastically. The fourth member of the party seemed contented enough by the food, but didn’t show much interest in the going conversation.

Sans leaned back in his chair, eyes lifted to the ceiling. Of course the double date was going by smoothly. Sans was going to waste his time here for next half an hour or so, growing tired by the second, all because he couldn’t stop fretting over his brother. Not to mention, he would have to figure out how to leave close to the time they were leaving, not get caught, and arrive home before Papyrus. Sans groaned.

Someone right beside him made the point of clearing their throat to grab his attention. Sans brought his head forward, eyes locking with a waiter standing patiently at his table. Sans suddenly found himself all too aware of the fact that the waiter was, for lack of a better word, hot. He had bright ginger that hair showed signs of being run through with a quick hand, a half-hearted attempt at keeping the messy locks out of his face. Light stubble lined his angular face, further emphasized by the thin, rectangular glasses that peered down at him. “Can I get you anything?” The waiter asked, his voice was quiet but unbelievably smooth.

Sans swallowed the response that immediately came to mind, and instead moved his gaze to the untouched menu on the table. “Nah, I’m good.” Sans drew out rather eloquently.

The tall ginger started, and frowned slightly but offered Sans a polite nod before walking away. Sans’ mind began to race, trying to think of what to do next. The obvious choice was to order something, as any normal person would have already asked for a drink at the waiter’s previous question. Wait, did he even think to grab money? Sans reached into his shorts’ pocket for his wallet and peeked inside. He had two dollar bills on him. Sans planted a hand against his face. _Greeeat_. He was a frick’n genius.

Trying to ignore the sharp twisting knot that was forming in his stomach, Sans returned his gaze back over to where Papyrus was sitting. Papyrus was currently engaging the other tag-along in a conversation. His voice was carrying across the room, but not loud enough for Sans to actually hear what was being said over there. Nevertheless, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Sans, however, now had an actual problem on his hands, and was at a complete loss as to what to do. He figured all he could do was wing it and hope it didn’t land him in too much trouble.

Sans continued watching Papyrus and his friends up to the moment the waiter returned. “Are you ready to order?” 

Sans was thoroughly impressed with the amount of patience this guy had. Of course, that didn’t mean Sans wouldn’t continue pushing that patience. Sans turned to face the waiter and shrugged, “ ‘Don’t need to.”

Sans’ stomach clenched painfully when the golden eyes behind the glasses, one eyebrow raised, actually turned towards Papyrus’ table before returning back to Sans. He luckily didn’t say anything regarding the table. “You don’t need to?” the waiter repeated back.

“Well sure. I got the finest condiments right in front of me. What more could I want?”

Sans winced internally, knowing just how much of a smartass he was being.

“Some actual food, perhaps?”

“I think I prefer the ketchup.”

To make a point, Sans lifted the bottle of ketchup and squirted a considerable amount into his mouth. The face Sans was met with fluctuated between complete disbelief and disgust. Sans took advantage of the waiter’s state of confusion to add to the fun. “What’s tomato? Never seen a guy use the ketchup bottle before?”

Sans let a grin crawl to his face. His brother would say Sans had a guilty pleasure in telling terrible puns to match the one he had for junk food, but for that to be true Sans would actually have to feel guilty about telling them. Not to mention his puns were never terrible. Tomato instead of ‘the matter’? Pure gold.

_Wait. Did---_ Sans’ eyes widened slightly in shock. Did the waiter just snort at that pun? This time the waiter spoke up while Sans was caught off guard, “Look. You can’t actually hold a table if you’re not going to order any food, and I know you’re not here for karaoke night so…”

Sans cuts him off, “Now hold on a moment.” He leaned forward, “What makes you so sure I’m not here to give the best karaoke performance you’ve ever seen?”

The waiter sighed tiredly, “You don’t strike me as the type to do karaoke.”

“Well Mr. Grillby-waiter, I guess I’ll have to convince you otherwise.”

The waiter actually stepped out of Sans’ way as he got out of his chair. Sans winked at the ginger as he passed him, making his way to the dj. Sans tapped the table next to the dj’s set-up to grab his attention from the computer. “What songs you got?”

The dj smiled and spun the computer around for Sans to browse through. Sans suddenly felt his stomach drop. What the hell was he doing? What made him think he was capable of singing in public? He had no clue what song he would even sing! His breath quickened, and he found himself unable to even focus enough to read the titles of the songs. He turned his head back towards the table he had just been sitting at and low and behold there was the waiter, standing patiently in the same spot Sans had left him. Sans turned back to the computer with fierce determination, scouring the screen for something that was sure to make that finely stoked flame of a waiter lose his composure. He frowned in frustration as he quickly scrolled past all the up and coming popular songs. None of them came close to the kind of song he was looking for.  
Finally, he slowed down slightly as he started passing some decent possibilities. He was still yet to find a perfect match. First and foremost, the song had to be within his vocal range. And it also had to be… _oh, wait_. Sans quickly checked for any kids in the eatery. _All clear_. It also had to be extremely suggestive. Suddenly, he landed upon a song, and a shit-eating grin crawled onto Sans’ face. Oh yes. That one would do.

He clicked on the song once to highlight it and turned it back around to the dj, who let out a single breathy laugh at the sight of it. The dj shook his head in amazement but nodded and gestured to the mics besides him. Sans grabbed the first one in the row and stepped up the small step to the stage. He threw a wicked smile at the waiter, who seemed genuinely curious.

Sans took notice of the screen facing towards him from the ceiling that booted up to show the words, but Sans dismissed it. There weren’t too many words to this song, and Sans knew the song well enough. Probably more than he should. The ridiculous electronic organ began the upbeat intro, immediately earning quite a few confused head turns from the people in the facility. Sans took a deep breath as the start of the words neared, and began the first line “You know that it would be untrue...”

His voice had a little shaky of a start, but for as nervous as Sans actually was, it wasn’t bad. He looked over directly at the _Grillby’s_ waiter as the first instance of the repeated verse began, gaining confidence in his singing. He started sliding his hand down the front of his hoodie. “come on baby, light my fire. come on baby, light my fire. Try to set the night on… fire.”

The older ginger stood, leaning casually against Sans’ table. It was hard to tell with the lighting and staying focused, but Sans thought he saw the beginnings of an amused smile tugging at the waiter’s mouth. Sans had been hoping for a bit more of a reaction, but he could work with this. Someone hollered from elsewhere in the room. A few people whistled. Sans smirked triumphantly, not losing his place in the song for a single moment. He was far from done with this, plenty of time left to woo the ginger. He threw himself into the next verse “The time to hesitate is through. No time to wallow in the mire…” 

He began to step decidedly towards the waiter, making eyes at him the whole time, who in turn didn’t break eye contact once. This time, when the chorus started up again, Sans dropped to his knees, reaching out a hand towards him dramatically. The waiter raised an eyebrow, and Sans confirmed that yes that was in fact an entertained smile on his face. No doubt, this was a man of high professionalism, Sans thought to himself humorously. He would take the smile as a victory though. 

In the last bit of the song Sans pulled himself back up and began walking to the opposite end of the stage, casting a mocking glance of his shoulder here and there. Sans doubled around and ran into a slide as he belted the last, “TRY TO SET THE NIGHT ON FIIIIYAaaaa ooooh!!”, throwing one final wink for good measure as he got back up, and several people throughout the place whistled and shouted in good humor. Thoroughly impressed himself, the waiter applauded Sans as well. So, feeling incredibly proud of himself, Sans walked back over to the dj and placed the mic back into its spot. The dj gave him a thumbs up in approval, to which Sans offered a smile in thanks before turning around to head back to his table. 

“SAAANS??!!!”

_Shit._


	2. Caught Like a Fish out of Water

Okay so getting on the stage was probably the dumbest thing Sans could have done. He gritted his teeth as and closed his eyes for a brief second before turning to find himself face to… okay well maybe more like face to chest with his brother. Sans shoved his hands into his pockets, “heeey, Paps.”

“SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

Sans gestured with one hand towards the stage, “Just some karaoke, bro. I would have thought that’d be pretty obvious.”

“AGH!” Papyrus threw his hands up in frustration “YOU KNOW VERY WELL THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT! AND AS MUCH AS I WOULD NORMALLY SUPPORT YOU ACTUALLY LEAVING THE HOUSE FOR ONCE, YOU HAVE NO REASON TO BE HERE!”

Sans moved the hand he had removed from his pocket to the back of his neck. He averted his eyes from Papyrus, unable to provide an explanation that wouldn’t just make his brother more upset. Sans gave a deep sigh.

Alphys’ friend awkwardly excused themselves to the bathroom, which further stoked Papyrus’ lecture towards Sans. “SEE? THE EVENING WAS GOING FINE UNTIL YOU CAME AND MADE IT AWKWARD WITH YOUR SINGING AND DISTASTEFUL DANCING! YOU AT LEAST OWE UNDYNE AN APOLOGY.”

Sans couldn’t argue with that, it _was_ her date that he had disturbed afterall. “Yeah, I guess I do.” He mumbled.

He shuffled past Papyrus towards Undyne, “Hey, Undyne... Listen, I really am sor--”

Two strong hands yanked on his blue beany, succeeding in covering his face down to his mouth. The owner of the hands barked with laughter as she pulled the blinded Sans into a playful headlock, “I’m going to stop you right there, punk. Now, you listen to ME. I don’t know why you felt the need to supervise Papys here, but I COULD CARE LESS!”

“If i-it means anything,” A shy voice stammered, “I-I don’t think you ruined the evening at all. It was kind of like d-dinner and a show? haha...”

Sans pulled his beanie back in place and looked over at the small blonde that was Undyne’s date. She startled at his gaze and shifted awkwardly, worried that she might have somehow offended him. Undyne gave a huge smile and released Sans so that she could gesture to Alphys, “See, Papyrus? No harm done!”

Papyrus didn’t seem completely convinced but his agitated frown lessened. Undyne turned Sans back towards her with a forceful pull of his shoulders. “The only thing I need from you,” She said, leaning closer to Sans with a devious smile, “Is the story behind that little display of yours back there.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s not much of a story.”

“Yeah, no. I’m calling bullshit, Sans. You don’t pull a stunt like that for no reason.”

A grin then crawled across Undyne’s face, “Though….Perhaps I’d have better luck getting the story from that waiter over there, hmmm?”

Sans’ eyes widened in horror before quickly falling into a glare, “Undyne take one step towards the guy and I swear I’ll--”

“You’ll what?” Undyne challenged, thoroughly amused.

Instead of elaborating Sans huffed and tugged his beanie over his ears, pulling away from Undyne. She laughed, “Welp, since we’re all done eating I guess we’re pretty much done here?”

Papyrus and Alphys nodded, and when the other friend returned the four of them started discussing how they would split the bill. Sans drew back, almost wondering if he should go back over to the table that was technically his. He glanced over in that direction. The waiter no longer stood where Sans had last seen him, and Sans couldn’t find him at any of the other tables. Undyne caught him looking around and smirked, “Looking to tip your waiter, Sans?”

“Noo!” Sans said defensively, shoving his hands in his pockets for the third time that night.

“SANS! YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LEAVE A TIP!” Papyrus exclaimed, completely unaware that Undyne had been teasing Sans.

“I- uhh-- hadn’t actually order anything, Paps. I only have two dollars on me, anyway.” Sans explained to his brother.

Papyrus made an exasperated noise “YOU. ARE. UN-BELIEV-ABLE, BROTHER- COMING TO AN ESTABLISHMENT LIKE THIS AND NOT EVEN HAVING MONEY!”

“Hey, I just said I had two dollars, didn’t I?” Sans shot back.

Papyrus chose not to reply, putting his split of the bill down on the table. Undyne, on the other hand, was rolling in her seat laughing.

The friends said their good-byes to each other. Alphys and Undyne started to mention a possible second date, however, both too nervous to actually offer any ideas as to what their second date might be. Undyne then turned to Papyrus, “Are you driving with me back to your house?”

Papyrus shook is head and cast a glance at Sans, “THANK YOU FOR THE OFFER, UNDYNE, BUT I’LL JUST HEAD HOME WITH SANS.”

She nodded before looking pointedly at Sans herself, “Don’t think you’ve gotten off the hook, pal. I still fully expect a text from you later tonight about what happened.”

Sans put his hands up in defeat. “yeah, yeah. I’ll _cast out_ a message when I get back.”

“You better! Well, I’ll _Catch_ you two later.” 

“See you _reel_ soon.” He shot back.

Papyrus let out a loud, exaggerated groan. “WOULD YOU TWO STOP ALREADY!” He shouted, stamping angrily to Sans’ car.

Undyne gave a final goodbye to the brothers before heading with Alphys to the other side of the parking lot. Papyrus had apparently claimed the driver’s seat, so Sans handed the keys over to him and climbed into the passenger’s seat. Papyrus still complained about Sans’ sudden appearance the whole way home, but luckily Sans didn’t think he was _too_ upset with him. In truth, Sans hardly followed with what Papyrus was saying as they drove. He couldn’t keep his mind from wandering back to the waiter, how his messy ginger hair had laid on his head like perfect wisps of fire, and how he had looked at him with those piercing golden eyes. Sans was split between never wanting to show his face there again and going back the first chance he got. Of course, there was no guarantee that he would even be working there at the time, but Sans figured he had taken bigger chances already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was really short and rather uneventful, I probably should have had this combined with ch. 1 but I liked ending the last chapter the way it did. 
> 
> Next chapter will be much longer and dives headfirst back into Sansby with Sans' next visit Grillby's! Don't take my word for it, but I should have the next chapter done by Saturday night. I've already got the most of it written out! Maybe it'll even be before Saturday? Anyway, definitely within the week if all goes well.


	3. Fire and Tomatoes, With a Side of Seduction

It was nearly halfway through the week, and Sans still had not returned to the bar. It wasn’t that he never had the desire to, there were plenty of times he had strongly considered going back, plenty of times he had gone over a number of different scenarios and lines he could say whenever he saw the waiter again. The problem was, it was _so_ much easier to _not_ go back. There were moments when Sans would be standing at the entrance of the house, key in hands, and then suddenly back out. It would take a certain level of commitment to actually go to the eatery, a continued sense of motivation that Sans just didn’t have.

Now was one of those moments where he was deeply considering going. Papyrus and Undyne had left earlier to see a new action movie that had come out. Sans had had the entire day off from work, which had enabled him to spend the entire day doing absolutely nothing. His inactivity had provoked a few critical comments from Papyrus, but Sans shrugged them off, even turning down his brother’s invitation to join Undyne and him to the movies. Movies with a ridiculous amount of fighting and explosions may be right up Undyne and Papyrus’ alley, but Sans himself preferred movies that were a little more...unpredictable. 

It was now close to eleven, Papyrus and Undyne were probably getting back within the hour. Sans stared blankly at his ceiling from his bed, listening to the barely audible tick of the hallway clock. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing that he was probably not getting any sleep. For the second night in a row. It happened sometimes, and there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. But he was sick of being awake, sick of having a body that was incapable of functioning properly. Sans rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands in frustration. Grillby’s was most likely still opened, doubling as a bar and all. He wondered how often the waiter had shifts that went this late into the night. It was a few hours later than the last time they were there, and there was a possibility that he hadn’t been able to locate the waiter afterwards because his shift happened to have ended. As unlikely as Sans knew that was, it was possible.

Sans swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled himself up. He slipped on the pair of pink fuzzy slippers at the side of his bed, deciding that a clean pair of socks was not worth the time and trouble it would take to dig through his room. He swiped his keys from their hook by the front door, made extra care to make sure he had a decent amount of cash on him, and was soon driving down the road. He wouldn’t be out long, he told himself. He would be back before Papyrus would start worrying. Sans smiled to himself, remembering the song he had been listening to the last time he was heading towards Grillby’s and quickly thumbed through his cases till he found the Spice Girls cd. If he really was going through with this he was going to start it right.

He didn’t immediately get out of the car once he was parked in front of the building, taking a few moments to steel himself for whatever would happen once he went through the doors. Of course, there was no possible way he could actually prepare himself. He had no _clue_ what he was expecting to happen.

Sans was slightly surprised when he saw it was the same girl sitting at the podium. She perked up to attention at the sound of the bells attached to the door, shifting her bored expression into the well-rehearsed hostess smile. That is, until she registered who was standing in front of her. Her smile widened a considerable amount, “You sure took your sweet time coming back here.” She laughed. “You had us worrying that Grillby wouldn’t get a chance to see his serenader again.”

Sans blinked, “what?”

She laughed, “The name was Sans, right?”

“uhh….yeah.”

“Well you’re in luck, Sansy~. Grillby’s tending the bar tonight. You’re in for a real treat.”

Sans eyes followed the girl’s gesture to the bar. His eyes had to adjust slightly, the inside of _Grillby’s_ was quite a bit darker than his last visit. Not that there were many people in the building that would need more lighting. The only other people there were sitting around a table together, giving the occasional bark of laughter whenever one of them said something funny. Sans locked eyes with the bartender for a brief moment, before the bartender quickly focused on the glass he was cleaning in his hands. A lump formed in Sans’ throat; how long had the guy been watching him? The hostess raised an eyebrow at Sans, “Well? What do you say? Want a bar seat this time around?”

Sans straightened a little, snapping himself out of it. He pretended to ponder, a small smile forming on his face. “hmmm… You know what? A bar seat sounds great.”

The girl bounded off of the stool and walked with Sans over to the bar. Sans pulled himself onto one of the stools and crossed his arms casually on the bar. The hostess grabbed a seat besides him, grinning from ear to ear. The tall ginger placed the glass carefully on the shelf behind him, making sure that it was perfectly in line with the others. He shot a bitter look at the hostess besides Sans, but the girl simply smiled back. The girl had no intention of moving from the spot. He sighed. “I certainly hope you remembered to bring money this time.” he said, towards Sans, making a few, final adjustments to the glasses besides it.

“You’re going to make me _pay_ for the ketchup this time?” Sans made a face of mock horror.

He gave Sans side-ways glance that Sans had a hard time reading. Sans put his hands defensively, hoping that the bartender was only pretending to be annoyed at his joke. A feeling of relief swept through Sans when he answered. “No, if that’s truly what you want.” He turned towards Sans, the slightest of smiles showing on his face. “However, I think I have something that you might appreciate just a little bit more.”

“A gift greater than ketchup? Hmm, I don’t know. What could possibly match such perfection?”

Sans watched as the other took a few decisive steps down the bar, knowing exactly where to look on the shelf. A red jar was pulled from the shelf and presented to Sans as one might present a hundred dollar bottle of wine. Sans leaned in, trying to distinguish what exactly it was.

Sans was barely able to keep himself balanced properly on the bar stool. It tipped dangerously underneath him as his head dropped to his arms. He may have been able to keep himself on top of the stool, but there was no way he could have controlled the laughter that shook his shoulders. Tomato juice. The guy was holding a freaking jar of tomato juice.

Sans finally lifted his head from his arms, wiping a tear from his eye with a finger. “Oooh, man. Way to ketchup me off guard there.” He paused to take a breath, “I must say though, I've never had a bloody mary as late as this.

Insulted, the tomato juice ‘thudded’ loudly against the table. “A bloody mary.” The ginger said in disbelief, “What kind of bartender do you take me for?” 

“uuhhh… one that just pulled out a jar of tomato juice?”

“I assure you, this is better than a bloody mary.”

“So.” Sans tilted his head smugly, “What kind of payment you asking for for this drink?”

The ginger didn’t even hesitate, “Seven-twenty.”

Sans chuckled and pulled the money out of his wallet, handing it over. 

Bottle after bottle was taken from the shelves and places on the workspace of the bar. Sans managed to recognized on of the bottles as rum, and another of bitters. A small shaker was grabbed and spun around the ginger’s thumb in one fluid motion, his other hand taking the bottle of rum. He alternated from bottle to bottle to jar, filling the tin shaker till he gave a satisfied nod. The shaker was sealed shut and the the bartender got to work.

He snapped his wrist up, spinning the tin in a short toss mid shake. Sans watched with increasing interest as the bartenders flipped and spun the shakers over and around his hands. A strainer was then plucked from the side and with a ‘pop’ the shaker was opened and poured into the glass in front of Sans. 

Sans was about to reach for the drink but was stopped by the bartender’s finger. He grabbed a toothpick from elsewhere on the bar and walked towards the kitchen. Sans looked questioningly at the hostess that was still sitting besides him, but she only offered a smile and shrugged. It was only a mere second before the kitchen door swung open again, and Sans chuckled as he saw that three tomatoes were now skewered onto the toothpick. The toothpick was laid carefully across the rim of the glass to finish off the tomato daiquiri.

Extremely curious at this point, Sans took a long sip from the unusual daiquiri. It felt so good going down his throat, and the taste was absolutely amazing, to Sans’ slight surprise. He let out a satisfied breath as he lowered the cup back to the counter, “That.” He said, “was delicious.”

“You think that's good?” The hostess said besides him, “Grillby, why don't ya make dear Sansy here a Blue Blazer? I'll even cover the cost." 

She slapped down fifteen dollars onto the counter. "Show off some of that fire-magic of yours."

"What’s this?” Sans put a hand dramatically to his chest, pretending to be hurt. “You’re trying to hold back on me? Come on, I promise it won’t be too hot for me to handle."

"Shouldn't you be getting back to work, Harley?" The ginger said pointedly at the hostess, putting the jar of tomato juice and other bottles away.

Harley stuck out her bottom lip, “But we’re closing soon! No one’s gonna come at this point!”

He shot a look at the girl. “Okay, okay!” She exclaimed in frustration and lifted her hand in a mock salute, “You’re such a kill-joy, boss.” 

She threw a wink at Sans before skipping back to her stand at the entrance. Wait... did she just say boss? Sans would have shrugged it off as a joke if he hadn't also realized at that moment she had been referring to him as 'Grillby'. He had to be sure, "Wait. Is this your... you own this place?"

Grillby nodded as he rimmed a glass with sugar, “The place was a gift from my father after I finished school. It was a little rough starting out, but it’s come a long way.”

Sans nodded in agreement, taking another look around the building. It was clear to Sans that a _lot_ of time and hard work had gone into the place. Without a doubt Grillby had one hell of a setup going on. 

Sans’ attention was suddenly brought from admiring the facility back to the bar when he caught a flash of movement in his peripheral. Grillby had a bottle in one of his hands with something stuck into the neck of the bottle. He was tossing it up and twirling it casually in his hand, his other hand hovering over the bar in search for something else. The object he was looking for was a simple lighter that he clicked to life and held to the top of the bottle. The long object sticking out of the bottle flared to life, signalling the start of Grillby’s little show. The flair tricks he had done before with the shaker were nothing in comparison. Sans’ jaw dropped a little as the flaming bottle was tossed behind his back, around his neck, and spun into the air. Sans had a pretty good grasp of how centrifugal force and momentum worked but Grillby still managed to leave Sans completely speechless. 

Grillby’s hands were no longer even touching the bottle, he had it somehow perfectly balanced on his elbow. He flipped it repeatedly using only his elbow, before finally letting it fall in a smooth tumble back into his hands. It whirled around his arms and hands, the circular trail of fire extremely close to his skin and clothing, yet nothing burned or caught fire. With a final flip he covered the flame within the metal sink built into the bar and effectively snuffed it. He poured the little bit of scotch whiskey that was within the bottle into a metal tin, and filled another with what looked like boiling water.

He took up the lighter again and lowered it to the metal serving cup that contained the whiskey. A faint blue glow started to come from within, and Grillby replaced the lighter in his other hand with the other cup with the boiling water. Holding the whiskey above the other, he began to pour the contents. The burning whiskey looked like a thin stream of blue fire as it cascaded down into the lower cup. It was beautiful and striking against the dark of the room, a mix of blue and orange fire that intertwined with each other. The cups switched places, the gap between them even greater this time, yet Grillby managed to pour it perfectly into the other. The liquid fire splashed as it hit the cup three feet away, sliding down the sides but fading before it could fall to the floor.

Each time the fire passed from one cup to the other it burned a little brighter, the fire grew a little bigger. At last, Grillby moved the glowing cup over the sugared glass and pour it out. The fire quickly shrank and eventually faded, but Grillby eased a small flame back with the lighter. He quickly snatched a lemon from a wire bowl and cut a wedge from it. He held the lighter between the lemon and the faintly glowing glass. With a fast pinch to the lemon a burst of fire erupted over the smoldering whiskey. Sans let out a whistle as he accepted the glass from Grillby’s outstretched hand. “I-- uhhh… wow okay, I’m at a loss for words here, G. That was pretty damn amazing. Nice use of d-limonene at the end there too.”

Sans drank from the glass, eyes closed in bliss as the hot liquor coursed through him, warming his body. When he lowered the glass to the table he looked up to see Grillby’s eyebrows lifted slightly at him. “What?”

“D-limonene.”

Sans felt his face grow warm. He turned away awkwardly, taking a slow sip of the whiskey. Still averting his gaze he mumbled, “Well, yeah. C10H16. it's... the… uh, combustible cyclic terpene found in citrus fruits... Especially in lemon rinds. Sorry, I thought maybe you’d...”

He stopped himself when Grillby chuckled, “Well, I don’t know about the rest of what you just said, but yes: I know _of_ limonene. Though, admittedly only that it’s the combustible oil in lemons.”

“Oh.”

“It just caught me off guard, hearing you say it. You-”

Sans cut him off, smirking slightly that it was almost exactly what Grillby had said last time. He finished Grillby’s line for him, “ ‘-didn’t strike me as the type’?” 

Sans shrugged, “What can I say: I got my share of secrets.”

One of waiters chose that moment to walk over to Grillby, “Hey, Grillbz. Do wanna start closing down now?”

Grillby tugged on the cuff of his sleeve to look at his watch, “Yeah, might as well. I’ll help out in a moment.”

The waiter nodded and disappeared elsewhere in the building. Sans turned to see that the other group that had been there were now long gone. He looked back at Grillby, “What time do you close?”

“Midnight on weekdays, with the exception of Friday. Otherwise we close at two.”

Sans pulled out his phone, it read twelve-fifteen. Grillby spoke before Sans got the chance to say anything, “Take as much time as you need. I’m just going to do a few rounds to make sure everything is in order.”

Sans gulped uncomfortably, “Oh, sure. Thanks.”

Grillby nodded and walked off at a brisk pace. Sans took another big swig of the whiskey, finishing most of it off. He stared blankly down at the drink, head in one hand. He didn’t mean to stay past their closing time, he felt awkward being the only non-staff sitting there. A small part of him, however, wondered if it would be considered rude to leave before Grillby came back. It had sounded like he expected him to still be there by the time he finished closing down the fort.

As Sans mulled idly over what to do, his eyes grew heavy. The sound of dishes clinking and shuffling footsteps of the employees slowly started to feel muffled and distant. None of this registered with Sans, eyes now closed completely. All thoughts he had slowly faded away. His head sank against the hand the propped him up, bobbing slightly as he began to doze off.

It was only when his mind vaguely registered a voice saying his name that he managed to break away from sleep’s powerful pull on him. Still very groggy, the only movement Sans made was to shift his head on his hand. “Sans?” The voice said again.

Sans lifted his head tiredly and look up to see Grillby looking down at him, his face showing concern. Sans took a long breath, straightening himself a little. Unsure of how long he had dozed off for he looked down at the clock on his phone. It read 12:45. Okay, so he had done more than ‘doze off’. He mumbled an apology to Grillby for staying too long after closing and got up from the stool. 

A wave of vertigo hit Sans as soon as his feet touched the floor. He groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead, cursing inwardly. _I guess i was wrong about the whole ‘not getting any sleep tonight’_ Sans thought bitterly. It figured his body would choose now to shut down from lack of sleep, and the two drinks weren’t helping either. The drinks alone wouldn’t have made him worry too much about driving home, but the exhaustion was affecting him to the point where he couldn’t focus his eyes.

Sans heard quick steps behind him and turned to see Grillby rounding the corner of the bar, his worry deepened by Sans’ moment of unsteadiness. “Sans, can you get home alright?”

“Bah, don’t worry yourself, Grillbz. I’ll be -- I’ll be _fine_. I’m just… tired.” 

What effort Sans made to hide the exhaustion in his voice failed completely. If his attempted reassurance had done anything, it had made Grillby even more certain that Sans wouldn’t be able to get himself home. “I’ll drive you home.” He said firmly.

“You don’t have to do that, Grillby, _really_.”

“Sans. I insist.”

Sans sighed, but nodded, admitting defeat. Grillby himself let out a sigh of relief and walked towards the back of the building. “I’ll be right back.”

Sans leaned his back against the wall besides the entrance, his head hanging a little under the increased weight of his fatigue. There was no one else in the building now, without a doubt they had left as soon as all the cleanup had been done. Only a single light was left, coming from behind the bar shelves. Grillby returned with his keys and an additional jacket on top of his bartender’s vest. He headed over to the bar, turned off the final light, and came to meet Sans at the entrance. Grillby gave him an affirming nod, and opened the door for him. The door was locked once they were both outside, and the bartender guided Sans across the parking lot. 

Grillby unlocked the door to a sleek, black coupe, and glanced up at Sans. “Do you think you can find someone to bring you to pick up your car in the morning?” He asked.

Sans nodded, opening the passenger door, “Yeah, even if by some chance Paps can’t, I could always get Undyne to drive me back.”

The two of them slid into the car, and Grillby brought the car to life. Without the fear of crashing on the way home, Sans admitted that there might be a chance he wouldn’t be able to stay alert enough to give Grillby proper directions for the whole car ride. He pulled out his phone tapped ‘9519 Snowdin Lane’ into the GPS, and propped the phone up on the dashboard. Just as Sans had thought he felt himself lulled slowly to sleep by the thrum of the car and passing blur of street lights.

After one of the turns however Sans’ phone chimed with an incoming call. Sans cracked open a tired eye and read Undyne’s name on the screen of his phone. Sans sighed, “I should probably answer that.” He mumbled.

Sans pressed the call button and, even though he was fully expecting it, cringed when Undyne began shouting loudly in the phone. “SANS!! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU, YOU BIG NERD?!”

Undyne’s voice rang in Sans’ ears, piercing the previous silence of the car. She at least didn’t seem angry, “Relax, I just went out for a bit. I’m coming home now.”

“OOOH? Did you finally pay that waiter another visit?” She cooed.

Papyrus’ voice piped up quite a distance away from the phone, Sans figured they must have been in separate rooms. It still carried clearly through, “UNDYNE!!! IS THAT SANS ON THE PHONE?!”

“YEAH PAPYRUS! TURNS OUT HE DECIDED TO SPEND THE NIGHT SEDUCING THAT GUY FROM GRILLBY’S AGAIN!”

Sans’ face felt as though it could have melted off in that moment. He quickly hid it from Grillby while shouting back at Undyne as if he wasn’t too late to cover it up, “UHH, Undyne, maybe DON’T…. you know... say that?”

“What. That’s where you went, right?”

“Yes. It was.” He hissed.

“So what the hell, Sans?! I didn’t _lie_!!! Why are you so heated?!”

Sans didn’t respond to that, trying desperately to pull his face further into his jacket. Much to Sans’ mortification he heard Grillby chuckle from the driver’s seat, and his distress grew when Grillby actually spoke up, “I happen to be driving Sans home.”

There was silence on the other end, but it was short-lived. Sans flinched when Undyne suddenly exploded with uncontrollable laughter. A loud ‘thud’ came from the other end. Sans didn’t doubt that Undyne had dropped her phone completely. Sans simmered as Undyne continued like that for what felt like hours to him. A very much confused Papyrus tried to ask what had happened, but his words were unable to overcome the laughter. The laughter still continued even as the phone was picked up. “BROTHER! WHAT DID YOU _DO_??!!!” Papyrus asked, having to shout into the phone.

“I didn’t _do_ anything, Papyrus. Could you kindly tell Undyne to shut the fuck up?”

“SANS! I WOULD NEVER USE THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE!!! ….AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU!!! I WILL, HOWEVER, SEE IF SHE COULD PERHAPS NOT PUT HER SIDES IN DANGER OF SPLITTING?” He directed that last bit towards Undyne.

“OOOH MY GOOOOD!! OH I’M TRYING, PAPS, I SWEAR! PFFFFFF BWAHAHAHAHA!!!--”

“WELL SORRY, SANS, BUT SHE DOES SAY SHE’S PUTTING HER BEST EFFORTS INTO STOPPING. I GUESS WE’LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT?”

“Yeah. I heard.” He growled.

“BUT, SERIOUSLY, SANS, WHERE ARE YOU NOW? I WAS QUITE TROUBLED WHEN I SAW YOU WEREN’T AT THE HOUSE…”

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to worry you, Papyrus. I --uhh-- couldn’t go to sleep.”

“WELL… ALRIGHT. ARE YOU COMING BACK SOON?”

Sans leaned his head against the window, “On my way now, bro.”

“OH GOOD!” He took a slight pause, “WAIT A SECOND SANS! BE CAREFUL!! SHOULD YOU REALLY BE TALKING ON THE PHONE WHILE DRIVING? I DON’T WANT TO DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION FROM THE ROAD! IT’S NOT VERY SAFE! ESPECIALLY WHILE IT’S--”

Undyne interrupted him, though she was not recovered from laughing, “Oh, don’t… haha… worrying about _that_ Papyrus. That waiter from Grillby’s is driving him home!”

“WHAT? SANS, WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE DRIVEN HOME?! YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED!!! ARE YOU OKAY???!!!”

“Papyrus, I’m fine. Don’t worry yourself. I had a few drinks and it’s not mixing well with--” Sans stopped himself, not exactly wanting to tell Papyrus he hadn’t gotten any sleep the past forty-eight hours. “...me. I’ll need a ride in the morning to pick up my car, but that’s it.”

Papyrus huffed, “SANS, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN THAT. ALSO, WE COULD HAVE EASILY PICKED YOU UP OURSELVES?”

Grillby spoke up again, “I apologize. It was i who insisted on driving him home.”

“OH, THAT’S ALRIGHT THEN. I CERTAINLY HOPE SANS THANKED YOU PROFUSELY!”

Grillby glanced at Sans with a look of amusement, “Actually, I don’t know that you have thanked me yet. You were quite stubborn about it.”

“OH MY GOD SANS!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!”

“Well I'm saying it now: thank you." 

Sans paused, "I really do appreciate you doing this.”

Satisfied, Papyrus said, “WELL, I’LL SEE YOU IN A FEW MINUTES THEN, RIGHT?”

He closed his eyes, glad that the conversation was ending, though the damage was already done. “Yeah, see you in a bit, bro.”

He reached over and ended the call, then sighed back into leaning against the window. “Your brother seems nice;” Grillby said. “He definitely cares about you a great deal.”

Sans hummed in agreement, eyes closing once more. “He’s the best. I honestly don’t deserve a brother as great as he is.”

Sans didn’t catch Grillby smiling fondly at his words, as he allowed himself to be pulled back to sleep. He didn’t stir until the car came to a complete stop and the light outside of the house shone against the car. Grillby handed him his phone, making sure he didn’t forget it. Sans thanked him again for driving, and opened the door. “I’m sorry for causing you the inconvenience of getting your car back. I suppose either Undyne or Papyrus could have driven it had you called them instead.”

Sans waved him off, “nah, forgeddaboudit. ‘Sorry ‘bout…uh....Undyne.”

Grillby smiled, “I don’t mind.”

Just before Sans closed the door Grillby added, “I was actually quite impressed with your singing. I would have said so the other night, but I didn’t want to intrude on you and your friends.”

Sans stood in the door, faced flushed and completely stunned. Unable to actually think of any proper response he pulled back, effectively aborting the conversation, “WELP! I GOTTA GO, THANKS AGAIN.”

He rushed into the house, head ducked down. He shut the door quickly behind him. Sans slid his back down the door, trying to process Grillby’s words. He complimented his singing. He had done it completely at a whim and only to mess with the waiter. Of course, wooing the ginger would have been a huge plus, but he certainly wasn’t expecting him to actually express any praise for it days down the line like that.

A hand waved in front of Sans’ dazed eyes, “HEY! Earth to Sans! Come in, ya’ blue weirdo!”

Sans blinked and looked up to see Undyne looming over him. His eyes narrowed, “I. Hate you.”

Undyne pulled Sans into a noogie with a laugh, “No you don’t!”

She willingly released Sans when he struggled against her embrace and turned around to face Papyrus. She placed her hands on her hips, “Well, I ought to get going; It’s pretty late. I’ll talk to you later, Papyrus!” She smirked down at Sans, “bye Sans!”

Sans rolled his eyes,but decided staying mad at her was too much effort. “See ya’ later, Undyne.”

She gave him a wide toothy grin as she opened the door. Sans caught sight of Grillby’s car still sitting in the driveway behind her, but the car was on again so Sans figured he was just about to pull out. Something twisted in his stomach. God, he was so stupid. He just _had_ to shut down at the end there, all because Grillby had said he had liked Sans’ singing. Hell, he practically slammed the door on Grillby and ran away! 

“SANS… IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?” Papyrus asked from behind him.

Sans pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned to face him, “Oh, yeah. I guess I just spaced out for a second there. I guess I should head off to bed.”

Papyrus was still frowning slightly, “WELL, OKAY… GOODNIGHT, SANS.”

“Goodnight, Paps.”

\------

Papyrus woke Sans up the next morning, yelling and knocking loudly on the other side of his door, “SANS! SANS!!! GET UP YOU LAZYBONES! YOU HAVE TO GET TO WORK!”

The only response Sans gave was a tired groan, hands finding their way to his sleep-crusted eyes. Besides him, his phone vibrated. A sleepy hand slapped onto it, and pulled it in front of his face that still laid on the pillow. He squinted at the screen, 5 new messages. Sans’ mouth drew into a puzzled frown, _Who was sending him so many text messages this early?_

(6:40 a.m.) Undyne:  
Hey, Sans. You up yet?!

(6:45 a.m.) Undyne:  
You better answer me when you wake up, Punk!

(7:00 a.m.) Undyne:  
NNGAAAAHHH!!! Are you seriously STILL NOT UP YET???”

(7:02 a.m.) Undyne:  
I’ll punch you in the face if I find out you’re ignoring my messages, SANS!

(7:09 a.m.) Undyne:  
Okay, so Papyrus said you’re still not up yet. BUT YOU AS SOON AS YOU GET UP YOU _HAVE_ TO TELL ME OKAY?!

Sans grumbled to himself. What was she planning?!

Sans:  
Well, I’m up. What’s got your pants twisted?

Undyne responded immediately,

Undyne:  
AAAGGGH!!! FREAKING FINALLY! So, hey, when are you leaving with Papyrus for your car?

Okay, yeah, something was definitely up.

Sans:  
Half an hour maybe? Still in my pajamas here.

Undyne:  
ALRIGHT! SWEET! 

Undyne:  
That’s all I needed.

Sans dismissed the messages, not really willing to try to pry Undyne for answers. She’d be tight-lipped about it for sure. Not to mention he had to hurry, as he really should have gotten up earlier if he wanted to get his car _and_ arrive at the museum on time. 

Sans quickly wolfed down a breakfast of sausage and eggs and threw on the nice black pants and button down shirt he kept specifically for work. Papyrus waited impatiently for him at the door. The brothers hurried out the door and climbed into Papyrus’ corvette. Sans pulled out his phone and texted Undyne again, telling her that they were in the car now. He wasn’t exactly sure why he felt obligated to help her out on whatever she had going on, but he knew she meant well regardless of what it was. 

Papyrus made it to the parking lot of Grillby’s in surprisingly good time, and Sans guided him to where he had parked his car. Very few cars were parked at the time, though, so pointing it out to Papyrus wasn’t so necessary. When pulled up besides it, however, Sans spotted something sitting on the hood of the car. It was a coffee cup, with some sort of note held down by its weight. Curious, Sans climbed out of the car straight to the two items. He slid the note from underneath the cup. The handwriting was smooth and scrawled.

‘Mocha Frap. extra espresso shot. I thought you might need one of these. Hopefully you don’t mind mochas.’

The coffee was hot in his hands. There was no way it could have been sitting there for more than a few minutes. Sans looked from the note to the cup and back. A little more was written towards the bottom of the paper. Sans snorted as he read the two lines, ‘Disclaimer- No tomatoes in this drink. I’m sure you’re devastated. -Grillby’

By this time, Papyrus’ curiosity got the better of him, “SANS? WHAT’S WITH THE COFFEE?”

“It’s…ah, apparently from Grillby.”

“GRILLBY?” Papyrus glanced at the sign over the building.

“The waiter that drove me home last night.”

“WHAT? AFTER NOT PAYING THE FIRST VISIT AND HAVING TO DRIVE YOU HOME THE SECOND?! BAH! SANS, YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE LEAVING SOMETHING TO MAKE IT UP TO HIM!!!”

Sans took a sip from the steaming coffee. He smiled as he felt its warmth flood through him, “That’s for sure.”

He carefully folded the paper and moved it to the same hand as the coffee so that he could pull out his keys. “Well, I better be heading off, bro. Don’t wanna be late and all.”

“INDEED YOU DON’T! HAVE A GOOD DAY, SANS!”

Sans waved the hand with the keys, “You too, bro.”

Papyrus pulled out of the parking space and drove back towards the direction of the house. Even though he really did need to get going Sans pulled out his phone and messaged Undyne again from inside the parked car.

Sans:  
How?

Undyne:  
Believe it or not he stopped me before pulling out of your driveway last night. Asked if I would do him a favor and tell him when you were heading over to pick up your car.

_Well that was extremely simple_ , Sans thought, taking another sip of the coffee.

Undyne:  
Sooo... what’s your game plan?

Sans:  
I have absolutely nothing

Undyne:  
NGGAAAAHHH!!! SANS. SANS LISTEN TO ME. The guy’s CLEARLY interested!!! Whatever strange nerdy magic you used on him WORKED. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM THE GUY??!!

Sans sighed and stared at the ceiling of his car, trying to make sense of it all. _Somehow_ Grillby was still interested after his huge blunder last night. _Somehow_ he was still interested after Undyne’s outburst. Not only that, he had even hung back in his sleek black car so that he could know when to get him coffee for the next morning. _wait a second_. Sans typed frantically into the phone.

Sans:  
You have his number.

Undyne:  
HECK YEAH I DO!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo, this is the longest chapter I've posted yet! Have your fill of Sansby!!
> 
> Definitely more to come! However, It might be a while this time around because this was basically as far as what I had completely planned out goes. I have an overall idea about where it w, but it'll take a while to actually flesh it out enough to start writing down.
> 
> And finally, please let me know if you spot any errors in here. Also, criticism is always welcomed, so don't be afraid to say something!


	4. Not-So-Useless Spam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO THIS STORY HAS ITS FIRST EVER FANART?!!!! A HUGE shout-out and 'thank you' to lil-liongirl, who drew [these](http://lil-liongirl.tumblr.com/post/141986154938/ok-so-i-really-had-to-draw-this-scene-from) STUNNING drawings from the scene in Chapter 1!!! I cried tears of joy when I saw this, and I was left teary-eyed for the rest of the night AND following morning. I mean it completely when I say I still grin like a maniac whenever I see it! 
> 
> Shifting gears here, I'm sorry this update took so long to get up! I should have divided my time between stories better. I have a pretty clear idea what I want to happen next chapter though so I'm hoping to have it up in a week or two.

Sans made good use of the newly acquired phone number. As long as ‘good use’ meant making an absolute fool of himself. He couldn’t think of anything to tell or ask Grillby, so the only other option was to completely bombard the guy with random facts that totally weren’t from a ‘random facts generator’. He was, of course, above that. He was also above adding, ‘did you know’ to _all_ of them. There were things now in his sent-box such as ‘Did you know the “french” in french fries actually describes the way the spuds are sliced, not their country of origin?’, and ‘ Did you know that engineers are working on a tiny eye implant that can continuously monitor internal optic pressure, the main risk factor for glaucoma, and send the information to a smartphone?’. Yes, they were absolutely all either food or science related. He wouldn’t settle for less.

The first spam-like message he sent did get a confused response from Grillby, as was expected. After the third, however, he simply gave up on replying to them. Sans didn’t doubt that his number was long since blocked on Grillby’s phone, or at least rightfully marked as spam. Despite this suspicion, he kept a strict schedule for sending these messages, going so far as queuing the messages if he thought he’d either be busy or asleep when the time came. That is, until the chemicals in his brain finally caught up to it all.

He woke up that morning hardly able to breathe, as if a fist was closed around his chest. It’s touch was cold and draining, sapping all warmth from his limbs. He shivered and withdrew into himself, eyes shut tight in bleak hope that it would fade away.

Papyrus had to get him up that morning, with a little more effort than it usually took. After ten minutes had passed following the usual banging on the door, Papyrus unlocked it from the other side, peeking into the lightless room. When Sans still didn’t move he took a seat on the end of the bed. Sans cracked open an eye, his vision unfocused as he looked at his brother. He knew Papyrus, knew he would have that worried yet patient smile on his face. “GOOD MORNING, BROTHER. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CALL IN SICK FOR YOU AT THE MUSEUM?”

Sans sighed, “mnnngg… No. No, I should go...”

Their father had done a lot to get him the job he had, and Sans felt he had taken too many sick days that month already. He had to get up this time, whether he was feeling up to it or not. Papyrus held out a hand and when Sans took it, helped him sit up. He offered the plate that had been sitting in his lap to Sans. Sans mumbled a thanks and accepted the plate. Once his hands were free of the plate, Papyrus scooted in towards his brother and placed a hand on the bed on the other side of Sans. The gesture resembled a hug, without limiting the movement Sans would need to eat the breakfast. Sans leaned into his brother’s arm, appreciating the company Papyrus was giving. The company his brother always gave during moments like this. Minutes passed before Sans finally managed to convince himself to take a few mouthfuls of the eggs and sausage.

There was no way Sans could convince himself to eat everything on the plate, especially with the generous serving his brother had piled onto it. They sat there together, letting a few minutes pass before Papyrus finally spoke up again, “I SHOULD PROBABLY DRIVE YOU NOW...IF YOU ARE STILL SURE ABOUT GOING TODAY?”

He nodded and slowly pulled himself away, giving his brother space to get up. Papyrus gave one last encouraging smile at the door, “I’LL BE WAITING RIGHT HERE IF YOU NEED ANYTHING BEFORE WE GO.”

Sans muttered a thanks, and shuffled his way to the closet, pulling on the hangers that held his work clothes. After several stumbling and clumsy movements he had successfully changed and headed to meet Paps in the hallway. 

The ride to the Museum was rather quiet. Sans knew his brother would normally be singing loudly to the radio or a CD Undyne gave him if it had been any other situation, but instead the singing was replaced with concerned glances at him. Sans had a bad taste in his mouth. He was ruining his brother’s morning. Not to mention Papyrus should be using the day to rest, not drive his depressed brother to and from work. He had his security night shift at Neiva Park at the end of the day. He didn’t want his brother’s health to deteriorate as well, especially by his own hand. 

As they pulled up to the museum Papyrus put a hand on Sans’ shoulder, “I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY, BROTHER! I LOVE YOU!”

Sans sighed and smiled back, “Thanks, Paps. Love ya, too.”

“YOUR SHIFT ENDS AT EIGHT RIGHT?”

“Oh, ah, yeah. But hey, try to get some sleep today. Please?”

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY, SANS. I AM ALWAYS IN THE BEST OF SHAPE!”

_Small chance of that stopping._ Sans thought to himself. He’d always be worried about Papyrus taking on too much. In a way, Papyrus was his polar opposite, and that certainly came with its own major problems. But they’d sit there and argue about which one of them shouldn’t worry for hours if he told Papyrus that. “True. You _are_ the best at practically everything bro. Still, get some sleep, alright?”

Papyrus nodded, “I WILL. I’LL SEE YOU SOON!”

“See ya, bro.”

Sans walked to the side door of the museum, clocking his card in on the wall besides the door. He sighed, of all the days this week he was supposed to act as a docent today, the last thing he was feeling capable of doing. He was hardly able to pull himself out of bed today, how was he supposed to lead tours through the museum? It was hard enough to pass off as relaxed and engaging on his better days. A concerned voice came from behind him, “Sans, are you feeling alright today?”

Sans turned and tried to give a reassuring smile to Toriel, “Yeah, ‘sno problem. Just feeling a little tired, still early in the morning and all, haha.”

Toriel was way too perceptive to be fooled though, her motherly instincts were too strong. “Sans.” She frowned, “If you’re not feeling up to helping out with tours, by all means just say so. I’ll be more than willing to take care of them for you. You can handle exhibit security for today.”

Sans couldn’t stop the wave of relief that came over him. If there was one thing he loved about his job, it was having Toriel as his superior. She was an authoritative ‘director of visitor experience’ to be sure, but she was always looking out for the other museum hands, never hesitating to show compassion towards anyone. Now was one of those times Sans was especially thankful for this. His relief escaped him in a sigh, “Thanks, Tori. That means a lot.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, dear. Don’t be afraid to ask for an extra break if you need to, alright?”

Sans would feel too guilty to take her up on that offer but he thanked her anyway. After Toriel told him the places he should supervise they exchanged farewells and parted to start their respective duties for the day. Standing watch over the exhibits felt a bit more feasible for Sans. The ‘Home of Discovery’ was a rather interactive museum, there weren’t many exhibits that visitors were prohibited from touching. He was mainly expected to make sure no roughhousing or reckless handling of the equipment happened, which was rather uncommon. He simply let himself quietly observe the energetic children weave about the exhibits excitedly and the older visitors move about with more restrained interest. 

A monumental sense of relief came over Sans as the world finally began to regain its color after a few hours. He began to actually take notice of the people around him, and seeing people become captivated with all the displays and activities started to feel somewhat uplifting once more. He enjoyed seeing so many people sharing the same curiosity and eagerness he had towards this kind of stuff, however short-lived the interest might be after leaving. Sans, on the other hand, had every detail of every exhibit, new or old, memorized. He felt the same way towards this place as a kid might towards a pet store. 

The time leading up to his lunch break had passed without much excitement. The occasional reminder for younger kids not to run, a warning towards a group of teens who were a little too vocal with vulgar topics, and pointing out directions to certain locations to lost visitors was about the extent of the first half of the day. Usually for lunch Sans would have packed a hot dog or something to eat in the break-room, but he had been too overloaded with the efforts of getting up; the dog still untouched in their fridge. Lucky for Sans, the museum had a food court built into the center of the first floor and he still had some money left in his wallet from the last time he went out.

The food court in the museum had basically three choices for food: burgers, pizza, or hot dogs. Perhaps for someone else the decision between the popular trinity might be a difficult choice, but for Sans there was no contest. As he sat down at one of the tables, the newly acquired ‘dog held triumphantly in one hand, Sans fished out his phone from his pants’ pocket. The phone was only given partial attention, his thumb idly tapping on the message notification as he took a bite of his lunch. It was only when he peeked down at the messages mid-bite that his eyes fell on the name displayed at the top. He had to run his eyes over it a second time, just to make sure he was seeing correctly. The new message was... from Grillby.

(11:47 p.m.) ‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
Everything alright? There’s a distressing lack of interesting trivia in my messages today.

Sans nearly choked as he forced down the bite, staring slack-jawed at the text. He threw the rest of it down on the plate, trying to think of something coherent to reply back with. 

(12:33 p.m.) Sans:  
Oh man, you’ve actually been reading those? I was sure you’d have them all stored as spam by now.

Another message from ‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’ came through almost immediately.

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
Well I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it was spam at first. Luckily it didn’t take too long to realize they were from you.

Sans:  
What gave it away?

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
Well to begin with, they started not too long after giving my number to your friend. The area code helped too.

Sans rubbed his eyes in embarrassment. Yeah, he probably should have realized that.

Sans:  
Welp, so much for anonymous facade. You’re just too smart for me, Grillbz.

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
Does this mean the end of all those trivia messages?

Sans:  
Pffft, Hell no. You’re not getting out of this so easily. In fact, I gotta make up for the two I missed earlier today.

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
Good. You had me worried there for a second. 

Sans rolled his eyes and abandoned the texts for the browser, his thumb flying to one of his bookmarked trivia pages. A smirk was tugging on his face from his bolstered spirits as he searched for a worthy fact. It was a huge relief to Sans that Grillby _had_ puzzled together that the spam messages were from him, and even more so that in the end he didn’t have to be the one to bring it up. The thin barrier of nervous awkwardness had been broken, and he was finally using the number to have a honest to god conversation with the guy. Well, for the most part anyway. They were yet to actually talk about anything that _didn’t_ involve the random facts. Sans flew back to the texts once he had found one that met his absurd standards.

Sans:  
Did you know that ketchup was used as a medicine in the 1830's to treat diarrhea and other digestive problems?

Sans laughed at the text message that followed, relishing in the sarcasm that dripped like thick syrup from it.

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
No, I did not know that. I’m so glad to be learning such valuable information.

_A smartass to go along with that nice ass_ Sans thought in amusement. He could certainly appreciate that. Time for him to mix things up a little bit.

Sans:  
Hold on to that sass of yours, you still got one more. 

Sans took another bite from his now lukewarm lunch, mulling over how he wanted to word this next message. Finally deciding he was satisfied, Sans hit ‘send’.

Sans:  
Did you know, there’s a very famous karaoke singer who still owes a bartender a nice outing?

Panic immediately hit Sans as his text appeared above. What the hell was that? What kind of message is that? How he could have thought it was smooth in _any_ way? God, he was such an idiot! With every single attempt he made at conversation, he somehow manages make it awkward for the both of them. Sans leaned his head against the back of his chair with a groan. The only thing he could do now was wait. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified when his phone vibrated not even a minute after it had been sent.

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
I did know that one, actually. I also happen to know that the bartender would be more than happy to accept such an outing... if that was an actual offer?

Sans sank into his seat, eyes raised in thanks to what ever mysterious power had been at work in those stupid trivia messages. Sans’ thumbs fumbled a little, his face feeling rather warm all of a sudden as he confirmed to Grillby that, yes he was, in fact, asking him….oh. OH. Holy shit. He was asking Grillby out. That was a thing he was doing that very second. He was asking him out, no plans what-so-ever. He tried desperately to wrack his brain for an idea, any idea, but he kept coming up blank. He needed help. 

He looked around him, as if expecting to spot someone he knew in the sea of famished strangers. The only person who was anywhere nearby was Toriel, and though Sans was sure she was more than capable of suggesting creative ideas it would take far too long to search through the museum for her. Papyrus probably would have been his best bet, but Sans certainly didn’t want to risk waking him on the chance that his brother had actually taken his advice and gone to bed. His only bet was to hope Undyne might be able to come up with something.

Sans:  
So apparently I just asked out Grillby. The thing is, I have no clue where I’m taking him. I need help. _NOW_.

It felt like hours were going by waiting for her to respond. Sans squirmed and fidgeted in his seat, his finger tapping anxiously on the back of his phone. The last thing he wanted was to Grillby to get fed up waiting for an answer, even though Grillby had proven himself to be quite patient in the past. Probably more patient than he deserved. He successfully stopped the shout of triumph that rose up in his throat when she finally answered.

Undyne:  
WOOOHOOO!!! WAY TO GO, SANS!!! Took you freaking long enough!

Sans:  
Yes, yes, we should throw a freaking party to celebrate this monumental event, NOW HELP ME.

Undyne:  
GEEZ! I WILL, ALRIGHT?! Why not just take him to the movies or something?

Sans:  
How am I supposed to know what kind of movies he likes? We could have completely different tastes.

Undyne:  
Ha! Yeah, your NERDY movies SUCK!

Sans:  
That doesn’t help!

Undyne:  
Pffft, Sorry. I don’t know, what about taking him out for dinner?

Sans:  
He _owns_ a restaurant! Would that be insulting to him?

Undyne:  
Sans, you are reading WAY too into this. Oh, WAIT A SECOND! You have Thursdays off, right?

Sans:  
Yeah?

Undyne:  
Alphys and I are planning on shopping at the mall together Thursday. We can meet up there and then you’ll be free to do what ever the hell you want. Shop for clothes, nerdy books, ingredients for his freaking restaurant I DON’T KNOW! The two of you can figure that out once you get there! What do you say?

Sans:  
That’s… actually not a bad idea.

Undyne:  
GOOD! Alphys and I plan on going around noon.

Sans:  
Okay, cool. Now if you excuse me I need to tell him this before he realizes how much of a screw up I am.

He quickly switched over to the other conversation, finishing the sentence he hadn’t been mentally prepared to complete before and asked if he wanted to spend a day at the mall with him, Undyne and Alphys. Sans let out what was possibly the largest sigh of relief in his entire life when he received Grillby’s reply.

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
That sounds great. Should I meet you three there?

Sans:  
Actually, don’t I also owe you a ride from the other night? I mean, if you’re alright with me picking you up?

‘Too Hot, Hot Damn’:  
I don’t mind at all. Here, 2119 Osage Road.


	5. The Absolute Best Way To Kick Off A First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to put the whole first date as one chapter but the second half is proving to be hard to write. I still don't know that this stands well as a chapter by itself, but I also didn't like the idea of making you guys wait? Hopefully it's not boring for you guys.

Papyrus gave an incredulous shout as Sans stepped into the kitchen Thursday morning, "SANS! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE _DOING_?"

Sans stopped in the doorway and gave a questioning look at his brother currently making lunch for himself on the stove top. "Uh, going to pick up Grillby?"

The distress grew in Papyrus' voice, "SAAANS! YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY GOING WHILE WEARING _THAT_ , ARE YOU?!" He said, looking pointedly at Sans' outfit.

Sans glanced down at the usual blue jacket and shorts, "Nothing strange about going to the mall in shorts, bro."

His brother made a noise of disbelief, "IF THIS WERE A NORMAL OCCASION, YES, BUT NOT ON YOUR FIRST DATE!!! IT'S HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE!"

Sans chuckled and shook his head, leaning against the doorframe, "I think I'll be fine. You still alright with staying at the house? None of us will mind if you tagged along."

Papyrus turned and waved the spoon he was holding at Sans, flinging small droplets across the counter, "ABSOLUTELY NOT! THERE’S NO WAY I WOULD EVER INVADE ON SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT TO YOU! I HAVE NO REASON TO GO TO THE MALL MYSELF, AND AM PERFECTLY HAPPY TO STAY HOME AND WATCH TV. _YOU_ ON THE OTHER HAND, NEED TO GET GOING! YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP HIM WAITING!"

Sans held up his hands in surrender, "Don't worry, I'm going. I'll see you later, alright?"

Papyrus nodded, and a proud smile stretched across his face, "HAVE FUN, SANS!"

Sans returned the smile and gave a thumbs up, "Thanks, bro."

He snatched the keys from their hook and stepped outside with a deep breath. It wasn't really much of a concern to him whether or not he would enjoy being at the mall. He was far more worried about it becoming boring for Grillby, or ruining it in any other way. As he drove it felt as if with each road he turned down these thoughts rang louder in his head, sending nervous tension down his arms. He alternated between grippin and drumming on the steering wheel. 

Grillby's house wasn't too far from their own, though Sans did note that it was in the opposite direction from Grillby's business. He was glad he had offered to drive him to make up for that. 

About twenty minutes had passed when Sans finally reached Osage Road, a narrow street that hid its sparse number of houses behind dense woods. Sans dropped his speed as he made his way down the road, scanning the numbers as he passed the mailboxes. When he finally spotted the house, he couldn’t say he was shocked.  
Grillby's house was of average size, about the same as Sans and Papyrus', but it stood out like a well tended rose among bramble in comparison to the other houses. Where many of the other houses had simply let nature have its way, the exterior of the house was clear of any vegetation that wasn't intentionally planted around the house. There certainly no questioning all the effort that Grillby put into keeping appearances neat and in order. It surprised Sans all the more that his own disheveled image didn't outright disgust Grillby.

Sans checked the time as he walked along the paved walkway. He was put a little bit more at ease when he saw it was minutes before 11:30, the time the two of them had agreed on. As was his nervous habit, Sans stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, fully aware that he'd have to pull them out to ring the doorbell. A muffled voice called in response from the other side, making their way to the door.

As Grillby opened the door, Sans was grateful to see he too had dressed casually. In fact, Sans realized this was his first time not seeing him dressed for work, though, he was still dressed considerably nicer than Sans himself. Instead of the fancy vest and bowtie he had on a dark gray buttoned down shirt, as well as a slightly more casual pair of black pants instead of the black slacks. Still, the pants had obviously been neatly ironed.

Sans offered a small smile, "Hey, ready to go?"

"Of course." Grillby answered, his voice smooth as ever.

Sans swallowed hard, putting every bit of effort into making his carefree front convincing as he gestured, "After you, then."

Once Grillby was in front of him, Sans' hands tugged on his beanie in a way that it covered the top of his ears. He took a deep breath, careful that it didn't sound like a sigh as he exhaled. He had this. Things would start going a little smoother once they were actually in the mall. Or at least he certainly hoped it would. 

While it was extremely similar to the last time they had been in the same car together, Sans felt it was noticeably more awkward as he pulled the car out of the driveway. It had been so late into the night before, the silence had felt appropriate. But in the mid-day sun it felt thick and out-of-place, a heavy presence that settled around them. After a few minutes Sans glanced briefly at Grillby, “You.. uhh.. Want some music?”

“Some music might be nice,” Grillby agreed.

Eyes back on the road, Sans reached for the power button, and an all too easily recognized intro came loudly through the speakers. Sans jumped and scrambled to turn it off, but not nearly soon enough. Grillby gave him a questioning look, eyes bright with amusement. 

"Why don't we put in a different Cd?” Sans offered nervously, “They're in the divider here." He tapped compartment between their seats.

"I don't see anything wrong with what's already in there." He responded offhandedly, but Sans caught the mischievous smile on his face. 

Well he couldn't back down now. His only option was to own up to the embarrassment, no way he was going to deny Grillby such a masterpiece of a song. 

Sans snorted, "Well alright then."

Not only did he turn the song back on, but he spun the volume up, _’...Baby One More Time’_ filling the whole car. Sans gave an entertained shake of his head, wondering why the heck he even owned the cd, let alone what had compelled him to put it in his drive home the other day. It was just another item on his mental list of questionable life choices, a list he didn’t actually care to fix at all.

That being said, he wasn’t sure how he felt about Grillby learning about these types of things so early on. He certainly wasn’t planning on starting their date blasting Britney Spears, yet here they were. 

However, he had to admit, it did help to dispel the awkwardness and stress that had been building. As the song faded away Sans decided to keep the cd on, skipping over a track or two to ‘Oops I Did It Again’ and ‘Stronger’. Eventually, the tension in his limbs relaxed a little, and he even spouted snippets of the lyrics, unfazed by the fact that there was no way he could make his voice match any of the pitches in the songs. 

When he was finally pulling into a parking space, Sans and Grillby’s eyes momentarily met, a smile on both their faces. As they walked towards the entrance Sans fished his phone out of his pocket, shooting a text towards Undyne. A near immediate response came through. "Undyne said she and Alphys are already here. They'll meet us at the first map here." Sans relayed to Grillby. He gave a silent nod in response.

Sans pulled ahead slightly to grab the door, holding it open for Grillby, "After you."

Grillby straightened, pleasantly surprised, "Thank you, Sans."

Sans gladly followed after him.

The inside of the mall was bright and open, not nearly as crowded as it might have been had it been the weekend. A number of people casually strolled between the stores, talking amongst themselves. Hardly a minute had passed before Sans caught sight of Alphys and Undyne making their way over to where they stood. The two were chatting happily, Alphys arms raised to hold Undyne's hand. His gaze shifted subtly to Grillby's hand beside him, his own twitched slightly from within his jacket.

Undyne perked up as her eyes finally pulled away from Alphys, waving excited. She quickened their pace towards him and Grillby, causing a startled squeak from Alphys as she was pulled along. Sans and Alphys exchanged a silent wave to each other just before Undyne shouted her own greeting.

"HEY! Nice to _finally_ see you again!" Undyne turned from Grillby to shoot an evil grin at Sans. He glared back.

"So, did you figure out what you're gonna do yet?!"

Sans sighed, "No, not yet."

"Alphys and I were thinking on going clothes shopping first?" She offered.

Sans lowered his shoulders. He wasn't too fond of clothes shopping himself, but he still looked towards Grillby, "Eh. I don't know... Do you want to go clothes shopping?"

"I think we'll have to pass, thank you for offering, though."

"Why don't we meet for lunch later?" Sans suggested.

"Yeah, great idea! When do you want to meet up? An hour or so?"

They look at one another to make sure they were all in agreement. Undyne clapped her hands together decisively, "Okay, cool! 

She flashed finger guns as she and Alphys turned away, "See you love birds in a bit then!"

Sans turned himself towards the map, his jacket pulled down around him as he tried to shove his hands deeper into the pockets. "So.. uhh... What do you want to do first?"

Grillby pulled up besides him, scanning the map thoughtfully. Half-way through the list Sans chuckled, "We should totally go 'build a bear'."

Grillby gave a curious look, "What, as in go to Build-A-Bear Workshop?" He cracked a smile when Sans nodded, "Isn't that place ridiculously expensive?"

Sans laughed, "Aren't all little kids' stores?" He joked.

Sans was just about to continue reading through the list of stores when Grillby's voice came from besides him, "Alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter, aka First Date pt.2, shouldn't be too far off (I have half of it typed up already!). Keep an eye out and.... prepare yourselves.


	6. Apparently Puns and Build-A-Bear is the Best Combination For a First Date

Sans started, blinking a few times before looking at Grillby. "You're serious?"

"Are you?"

Go stuffed animal store and make a bunch of parents really uncomfortable? A wicked grin came to Sans' face, "Hell yes."

They double-checked the map and made their way through the mall. Just the wary looks from a few of the people inside as he sauntered in was enough to satisfy Sans. For the most part the store was rather empty, but it was just late enough in the day that a few small children were in the store, holding hands with their parent. Grillby tapped his shoulder and pointed towards one of the walls, “Looks like we’re supposed to start over there.”

Sans followed his finger’s direction to the line of displays of stuffed animals, boxes of unstuffed husks all around them. Sans idly picked up on and turned it over in his hands, letting the fuzzy fabric flop and dangle over his fingers. “Rather sad-looking like this, aren’t they?” He said over his shoulder.

Grillby shrugged and looked from one display to the next. Sans dropped the flat ragdoll-like teddy bear back into the crate and took a step back to take his own look at all of them. Finally he decided on a small white dog, or a ‘Promise Pet Westie’ as they had it tagged. He had half a mind to choose one of the crazy brightly colored stuffed animals, but ehh.. He liked dogs. He turned to see Grillby had picked one of their more standard options, a cream colored bunny.

When they got to the stuffing station Sans was slightly disappointed to find they weren’t actually allowed to handle the stuffing themselves. The lady manning the machine smiled and said good-bye as a little girl walked happily away with a multi-colored bear. She then brought her attention to Sans and Grillby as they took a step forward, “Hi, welcome to Build-a-Bear Workshop!”

The two of them offered a slightly awkward ‘hello’ back. “So, who’s this going to be for?” She asked, holding out a hand for Sans’ stuffed animal skin.

“For ourselves.” Sans said unblinkingly.

He handed his currently flat dog to the seated employee-who was a lot less talkative than she had been with the little kid before them- and waited rather impatiently as it was stuffed, one limb at a time. Grillby gave a slight nudge to grab his attention. “Something wrong, Sans?” He asked in a hushed voice.

“I just thought it’d be a little more… interactive than this.” He whispered back with a shrug.

Grillby gave a snort, shaking his head, “I think it’s pretty understandable why they wouldn’t trust the customers with the stuffing.”

Sans eyes crackled with light as he pictured fluff flying across the room, “And yet, that’s exactly what I was hoping for.” He said with an exaggerated sigh.

However, it turned out they weren’t to be spared from the post-stuffing ritual of the store. After both bunny and dog had been stuffed they were told to each take a small heart from the ‘heart-bin’. Both he and Grillby gave a few awkward laughs as they were put through numerous odd movements.

“Jump three times to start the heartbeat.”

“Put the heart to your nose so it’ll never get sick.”

“Now rub it on your funny bone so it’ll laugh at all your jokes.” Grillby shot Sans a look at that one.

“Now hold it to your heart and make a wish.”

Sans couldn’t help himself but to follow along, even thinking a wish to himself as he put the small heart over his chest. It wasn’t anything clever or creative. All he wished was for it all to work out in the end, that this wouldn’t prove to be too strange or boring for either of them. He kissed the heart as he was told to do, throwing a wink at Grillby as he did so, and put it into the opened stitches of his white stuffed dog.

Sans was immediately upon the possible outfits as soon as the hearts were sewn in. He was quick to realize, however, that there were not nearly as many options for the four-legged animals in the store. Most of the outfits were obviously tailored to accommodate for the bears and bunnies, but only a handful of them looked like they would fit the animal in Sans’ hands. He was just about to give up and choose a random outfit for the heck of it when his eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of the holy grail of costumes. A succulent plush sausage between two golden buns of fabric, and in the perfect shape and size for his stuffed dog. He snatched it in his hands and presented it to Grillby, “Take a look at what I found.” He stated proudly.

Grillby looked up, having been thoughtfully browsing the shelf behind Sans. Grillby smirked, “I am at a loss of words.”

Sans nudged his arm in curiosity, “So, what’chya thinking for yours?”

He hummed contemplation, “I haven’t decided.”

Grillby had continued along the line of shelves for a while longer when he stopped, and glanced again at the hot dog costume in Sans’ hand. Sans glanced around Grillby to look at the outfit he was picking up, a white chef’s outfit that even came with a small frying pan. Sans smiled, “Sticking to a ‘food’ theme, are we?”

“I think they compliment each other, don’t you think?” He said, holding the cook outfit and bunny to Sans’ hot dog and dog.

Sans nodded cheerfully, but an idea suddenly came to him with the two stuffed animals placed side-by-side. “Hey,” He started, but was already thinking twice about asking. Grillby was looking at him expectantly. “Do you perhaps… want to exchange them after we buy them? It’d kinda be like… having a representation of each other?” He grimaced. God, the cheesiness of that line was off the charts. Like freaking ‘Kraft’ level cheese.

Yet, Grillby cracked a smile, “I’d be honored to have your hot dog dog.”

“Oh, uhh… cool.” 

With that awkward situation for the most part relieved, Sans looked around at the signs hanging from the ceiling, “So, noises next or naming?”

“I think naming should come last.” Grillby answered.

Sans nodded and headed over to the sound station, a number of small touch screen along the wall. Besides the expected animal sounds and cheesy high pitched ‘i love you’ soundbites most of the other sounds were related to popular kids’ t.v. shows and some that Sans didn’t recognize at all. He flipped through them, listening to a few of the short snippets. He finally decided on the unnaturally gravelly batman voice, absolutely perfect for a cute snowball of a dog in a hot dog suit. Grillby seemed a little disappointed in the selection, and Sans had to admit he didn’t really see any of the options as a good fit for hit bunny chef. “Perhaps I should have gotten a dog or a cat like you.” He stated, sounding rather frustrated. “That way I could at the very least choose the corresponding animal sound.”

Sans shrugged, “Well, you could always just get the personalized option. We can look up what noises bunnies make.”

Grillby moved stuffed animal about in his hands thoughtfully, “What kind of sound do they make anyway?”

Sans pulled out his phone and looked up rabbit noises. Most of the results agreed that rabbits normally grunted. He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at Grillby. Grillby slid his hand under his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m not letting you grunt into the voice box, Sans.”

Sans gave a dramatic sigh of disappointment, “Aww, come oon~.”

His eyes looked back over a website he had found where someone had made a list of noises they could make. He grinned up at Grillby, “Alright, but I’m still doing one of these bunny noises. No grunting involved, I promise.”

Grillby gave him a dubious look but pressed the eight dollar voice option anyway. A big record button appeared in the middle of the screen, which was promptly pressed. Sans leaned close to the built in microphone as directed, and moments later the screen started counting down. He took a deep breath as go appeared. He screamed, effectively causing Grillby to jump.

He re-pressed the button, stopping the recording. He resisted the urge to look guiltily around the store at what reactions that outburst had drawn. Grillby cleared his throat, probably resisting to do the same thing, “I think I can safely say that wasn’t a rabbit noise, Sans.”

Sans tsk'd and turned the phone towards Grillby, tapping the side to draw his gaze to the screen, “take a look for yourself.”

Grillby looked back at Sans, eyebrow raised, “It says ‘high-pitched’ scream.”

Sans laughed. It also said they scream when terrified or in immense pain, but the high pitched scream was what Grillby chose to mention, “Shit, you’re right. Whoops.”

Grillby gave a good-natured shake of his head and retrieved the heart-shaped sound box from the kiosk. That just left the information to fill out. Sans and Grillby took a seat at two of the cheap computers, filling out the spaces on the certificate to be printed out. Sans didn’t think much about the fields as he filled them in, even dubbing his stuffed animal ‘Legendary Fart Master’ without a second’s thought. He came behind Grillby with his freshly printed certificate. Grillby had his phone out and was flipping through some website. On his screen only the name of the pet remained to be filled out. Sans choked on a laugh upon taking a closer look at what was displayed on Grillby’s phone, “Oh my god, you’re putting that much thought into this?”

Grillby sighed, “I would more call it being at a loss for ideas.”

Sans read over his shoulder as Grillby went back to skimming over dozens upon dozens of random names, most of which were unbearably uncreative. Sans mulled over ideas of his own, hoping he might help Grillby with his little predicament. True enough, his mind didn’t fail him, “How about Cinnabun?”

Grillby froze and stared at Sans in such a way that Sans was genuinely surprised his jaw wasn’t dropped. Sans grinned pompously, “It’s okay to applause.”

Grillby snorted, but actually did humor Sans and gave a slow clap. He willingly typed the pun into the computer, and looked at Sans as they waited for it to print, “Out of curiosity, what did you name yours?”

Sans flipped it around for him to see. It certainly caught Grillby off guard, an obvious delay in his reaction. “What happened to the whole ‘food theme’?” He asked in amusement.

Sans shrugged, “It could still be related. People _do_ put chili on hot dogs.”

That earned the faintest of smiles as Grillby took the paper from the printer, “Fair enough.”

Having paid for their now dressed and named animals, they traded traded the stuffed animals as promised and left the store with the giant house-shaped boxes. A quick exchange of messages with Undyne told him that she and Alphys were still trying on clothes, but would meet with Sans and Grillby at the food court as soon as they were done.

Sans took a deep breath as they entered the open area of the food court, a mixture of hot sugar and frying grease meeting his nose. He turned to Grillby, “Do you want to grab something while we wait for the girls to arrive?”

“Something small, perhaps? We shouldn’t be rude about getting lunch without them.”

Sans shrugged. He knew Undyne wouldn’t really give a shit if they ate lunch before they arrived, but he didn’t see it necessary to mention it to Grillby. “Cinnabons?” He offered, a sly smile creeping across his face.

Grillby smiled back, “Sounds perfect.”

They had finished each of their cinnamon rolls by the time Undyne and Alphys arrived, several bags dangling from their arms. He waved them over to the table they had claimed. Undyne’s eyes fell to the two large boxes by their feet. “What the heck are those?”

Sans spun his around so that the logo was clear as day, and Alphys’ eyes widened with Undyne’s in shock. “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” Undyne shouted, tears of laughter coming to her eyes, “YOU TWO ARE THE BIGGEST DORKS I HAVE _EVER_ MET!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sans said, tapping the box proudly, “Best store in the world.”

Undyne shook her head, chuckling as she took and Alphys took a seat across the table from them, “Oh, yes. Definitely.”

“Admit it.” He said, leaning into the table, “You just can’t _bear_ the fact that you couldn’t think of something so genius yourself.”

Having known Sans too long _not_ to notice the pun Undyne flicked his forehead, and stated she and Alphys were going to grab some food for lunch. Sans and Grillby pulled themselves away from their seats to follow. They split up among the different storefronts, Sans and Alphys both ended up in the McDonald's line. He decided to strike up small talk as they waited in line, “So, how was clothes shopping for you guys?”

Alphys startled, “Oh! I-it was great! I normally alternate between just a few t-shirts and such so it--it was nice to finally get some nicer things to wear. And Undyne was really supportive, I don’t think there was a single outfit I tried on she didn’t compliment.” she said with a warm laugh, looking shyly down at her hands as she twiddled her thumbs. Sans smiled.

She looked up at Sans with a grin, “How was Build-a-Bear?”

This time it was Sans’ turn to laugh, “Fantastic.”

Grillby met up with Sans as he neared the counter that held the napkins and condiments. At first, Sans was only going to stick with the usual ketchup when inspiration suddenly struck him. He turned to Grillby, and grabbed his attention.

He pressed down on the mustard, putting a large blob of it onto his burger with a wink, “Hey. I’m glad I _mustard_ the courage to ask you out."

Grillby gave a quiet chuckle as he grabbed a few napkins, definitely not enough of a reaction to satisfy Sans. He continued, sliding his burger underneath the ketchup, “No, really. You’ve made me happy from my head tomatoes.”

Grillby stopped as Sans slid the burger yet again, this time under the Mayo, “Sans…”

A blob of white paste joined the yellow and red, “Mayo be mine?”

Grillby laughed, “That one was was terrible.” His eyes fell to the burger in Sans’ hands, the burger practically drowning in condiments now. “Sans, please tell me you’re not seriously going to eat that.”

He moved the top bun back into its place, though it did slide a little. “Well I paid for it didn’t I? I’m not going to waste it.”

There was a sigh of disbelief from Grillby “I’ll keep it in mind to prepare proper food for you one of these times.”

Sans followed close behind him, trying to figure out if that was a proposal for another date. Well, in any case he had said ‘one of these times’, so it most likely wouldn’t be for their second date. In the meantime he still had a first date to finish.

Lunch went by extremely smoothly. With Undyne there the conversation was constantly flowing, she had loads of questions about their visit to ‘ _freaking Build-a-Bear_ ’. When that topic was exhausted she moved on to asking Grillby about himself and his job. Eventually, they were all recounting crazy incidents during each of their jobs. 

They decided to browse through F.Y.E. before leaving; Undyne and Alphys wanted to buy an anime to watch together at some point, and upon Grillby’s suggestion Sans and he decided to buy some music for the way home. They both agreed on getting the Rick Astley cd spotted among the countless of CDs and albums. Undyne and Alphys got a DVD of Mew Mew something or other. So, with that their day at the mall was finally coming to a close. The two groups said good bye to each other and walked to their respective cars. 

The car ride home was filled with the new member of Sans’ ridiculous collection of CDs, and neither of them were disappointed. The very first song on the album happened to be the one song that had driven them to buy it. Sans made a mental note that he’d have to remember to put the album on every time Grillby got in his car from now on. A soulful serenade of the most iconic song out there was exactly the kind of thing Sans would do.

Compared to the drive to the mall, the ride back seemed to pass in no time. The car was parked in the shade of Grillby’s driveway, and the Rick Astley music was brought to an end. Grillby turned towards Sans before making any move to exit the car, shifting the dog plush so that it was held snug under his arm. The huge obnoxious boxes had been discarded on the way out of the mall. He smiled, “Today was nice, Sans, thank you. I’ll definitely have to think of something special for our second date.”

Sans face burned, and he found himself unable to come up with a response to that. Or, at least a proper one. Grillby paused for half a second in case he was going to give a response. When one didn’t come he gave a small smile and opened the door, pulling himself out of the car. The vibration of the door closing suddenly pulled Sans out of his brief lull and he scrambled for his own car door, keeping his feet in the door so that he was looking over the top of the car. “Hey, so... how often do you usually work?” 

Since he was already out of the car, Sans decided he might as well walk over, accompanying Grillby to the front door.

Grillby adjusted the sleeves at his elbows, “Well, I generally step in wherever I may be needed, but I work weekends, and usually around opening or closing on weekdays.”

Sans chuckled, “Maybe I’ll just send a text to make sure you’re there before visiting.”

Grillby shook his head in a silent laugh, then turned slightly towards Sans as they walked, “What about you?”

“Huh?”

He raised an eyebrow, a look that was quickly becoming all too familiar with Sans, “Am I not allowed to distract you from work as well?”

“Oh.” Sans gave a tentative laugh, “I mean, I mainly give tours and shit at the museum, but yeah feel free to come if you want? I usually get Mondays and Thursdays off…” 

Sans forced himself to take a breath, stopping himself before he could even start rambling. He was about to go into talking about getting sent home on some weekdays if turnout was low and other technicalities. Grillby nodded, “I’ll have to make use of that.” He mused.

Sans rocked his feet to a stop when they finally go to the front step. He moved his hand to the back of his neck, “I hope it wasn’t _too_ weird, you know, it being our first date and all? I… uhh, wasn’t planning on the terrible music or the whole ‘build-a-bear’ thing. I probably should have put more thought into it and...”

Grillby placed a hand to Sans’ shoulder. Startled by the sudden touch Sans didn’t process it all before Grillby’s face tilted slightly to meet his. Their noses brushed as the last of the distance closed between them, and Grillby’s hand moved along his shoulder to Sans’ neck to cup his head. Sans didn’t dare breathe, his hands hovered in the air just above Grillby’s shirt in surprise. He was able to collect himself just enough to keep himself from being a stiff board, moving his lips slightly to reciprocate. Grillby’s lips overlapped his bottom one slightly as he drew back, a slow warm breath of air from his nose as they parted. Sans took a small breath of his own, his body finally able to recover from the shock. 

Grillby’s face softened fondly when their faces were in view of each other once more, “I thought it was a fine first date.”

However, his face then changed into worry, “Oh, I…. hope that wasn’t too forward of me?”

Sans shoulders relaxed as he looked up at Grillby, taking up the soft smile that had been on the other’s face just moments before, “Too forward? It’s a freaking relief is what it is.”

A little too short to put his hand casually on his shoulder as Grillby had, Sans brought his hand around the fabric of Grillby’s sleeve, lifting the balls of his feet from the ground. However, he was also a little too short to close the distance between them by himself, but Grillby willingly met him halfway. They met a little less gingerly, both of them more confident now than the first time. It was still kept short, neither of them lingering very long. A contented sigh rose in Sans as they slowly drew away, relishing in every fleeting point their lips were touching.

A huge grin spread across Sans’ face, “I’ll see you soon, then?”

“You can count on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW! This chapter was definitely challenging to write. Hopefully my complete inexperience with kissing didn't show through XD Also, I didn't realize just how MUCH one did at Build-a-Bear. Turns out it's a lot more than just stuffing and dressing a stuffed animal?! Joke aside, I did end up spending HOURS watching videos of peoples' trips there to make sure I included everything I would want to. 
> 
> However, I am going to shift my focus from this story to 'Too Far Gone'. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS DOESN'T IN THE LEAST BIT MEAN I WON'T BE WORKING ON CHASING FIRE. I will still definitely be piecing together the next chapter. It just means I won't be in a rush trying to get the next chapter done. I just want to make sure I'm continuing both stories at a pretty even rate. Also, I'd like to add that as of right now this story doesn't have a planned ending. There are a few dates and events I have planned to happen, both soon and later on, but if there's something you'd really like to see feel free to tell me!
> 
> I can't BELIEVE I've gotten so much great feedback and even ART(AAAAAHHHH!!!!) inspired by this! You guys are the BEST!


	7. He Still Could Have Volunteered

Sans was almost whistling to himself when he clocked in for work the the following Tuesday, the first weekday he was scheduled to work. He wasn’t sure when the last time he’d felt this excited to start work had been. 

The museum was beginning one of their occasional demonstration events, and it just so happened that he was hosting the demonstrations throughout the week. Toriel was waiting for him in the members’ lounge. He lifted a hand in greeting, “‘Morning, Tori. Is everything set for today?”

She nodded, “All set and waiting for you, Sans. I’ll show you where the containers are.”

Toriel lead him into one of the smaller archive rooms, where three cryogenic storage dewars of liquid nitrogen sat on one of the tables. The way Sans was grinning one would have thought he was looking at the mother-load of candy. He gave a whistle of admiration as he examined the tanks. Toriel came up behind him, “Do you think you’ll need help bringing it to the theater room?” 

Sans turned to face her, patting the top of one of the canisters, “Nah, I’ll grab one of the rolling carts to carry it. It’ll be no sweat. Where are the other materials for the demonstrations?”

“The second shelf from the floor,” She said, pointing to the first row of shelves in the room, closest to the door.

She continued past them, heading towards the door. She turned one more time towards him, “I’ll be by admissions if you need anything, okay?”

“Got it.”

She gave an endearing smile, “Have fun, Sans.”

Sans nodded in response, a grin on his face. Oh he planned on it. Giving demonstrations was probably the best part of the job, as infrequent as the opportunity to do so came. The museum was bringing in a temporary chemistry exhibit for the month, and even purchased tanks of liquid nitrogen for demonstration events throughout the week. There would be two a day, and Sans was manning every one of them. He ran through the plan with Toriel before the start of the month, preparing a small list of items he’d need. The tanks themselves were expensive, but the other materials were easy to find and inexpensive; flowers, balloons, some empty film canisters, and a variety of small balls.

All of the equipment he’d need for that day was carted through the back halls and brought into the small theater room well before the first demonstration was supposed to begin. Another staff member was in the room to help put everything in its place. Sans gave a contented sigh, eyeing his watch every now and then, waiting for the last half hour to pass.

Doing the demonstration was almost relaxing for Sans. He got to stand in front of a crowd of curious faces, many of them kids, and talk about the various characteristics of nitrogen as well as the effects of rapid freezing on different objects. It was designed to be interactive too. He called upon several kids as volunteers to lower some of the items into the tank. The whole thing lasted about half an hour, which flew by all too quickly for Sans. The doors were locked after the last people exited, and Sans was free to take his lunch break. He sighed happily as he took a bite of his sandwich. _The whole week would be like this._ He had the opportunity to handle liquid nitrogen and give long winded sciencey spiels the entire week. It wasn’t anything like working in a real lab, but it was fantastic all the same. 

He was assigned to lead two tours through the museum before the second demonstration began, and he hurried back over to unlock the theater doors as soon as they were done. Little by little the room filled again, and Sans grabbed a pair of goggles for himself at the smaller table at the side of the stage.

He greeted the crowd as before, taking a moment to run through some basic information on Nitrogen to begin.

“Now how many of you have seen or used dry ice in here?” The majority of the hands went up, as Sans had been expecting.“You’ve probably been told how dangerous direct contact with dry ice is, right? Even a short amount of time can leave someone with frostbite or cold burns on their skin. Dry ice is typically around -109.3°F. The liquid nitrogen in here? More than three times as cold. So, who wants to dip these flowers in it? Don’t get _cold feet_ now.”

Several kids’ shot their hands in the air. He called upon a girl and boy up to the front to put on goggles and gloves, giving them a pick of the long-stemmed flowers in his hands. Fog rolled up from the tanks as the flowers were submerged and several other kids in the front row reached down with excited hands to feel the billows. Sans smiled at their curiosity and told the two kids to remove the flowers. The petals were dripping with the same fog of gas, like miniature smoke machines. “Go ahead and give the flowers a squeeze.” He said.

The petals crumbled into shards under the kids’ hands, making small tinkling sounds as they hit the table. A soft murmur of ‘oohs’ and gasps rolled over the audience, and the faces of the kids holding the flowers were bright with joy. He thanked the kids and sent them back to their seats, picking up two of the blown up balloons from his selection of items. He turned back to the crowd of people. “Now what do you think will happen when these balloons are submerged in the nitrogen?”

Several answers blended together into a mess of words. “Let’s get two more volunteers up here.”

Sans looked about the crowd, making sure to get volunteers from different parts in the crowd, when suddenly his eyes fell upon a very familiar shock of ginger hair. Grillby caught his gaze and smiled back, giving Sans half a mind to call him down to volunteer despite his hand not being raised. The volunteers were usually children anyway. Sans cleared his throat and quickly picked another boy and girl to come up on stage. The two kids lowered the balloons from one end into the dewar, and watched with wide eyes as the balloons gradually deflated in their hands. Sans took one of the balloons and a flashlight in another, signalling to one of the staff members to turn off the lights. He swirled the now liquid oxygen for the audience to see. The lights were turned back on when most of the oxygen returned to its gaseous state inside the balloon.

He continued from there, rocketing the lids off of the film cartridges using the expanding pressure as the air warmed after being dosed in the nitrogen, testing the rebound of different ball toys after being rapidly frozen, and inviting few more kids to either put in a balloon or flower themselves. Of course, he couldn’t avoid locking eyes with Grillby whenever he looked out into the audience for volunteers. He finally brought the presentation to a close, encouraging the visitors to continue checking out all the other exhibits the museum had to offer. 

Sans collected all the gloves and goggles from the table into a box, along with the balloons that hadn’t popped while re-inflating. He smiled wryly when he saw Grillby had remained in the room, waiting off the step of the small stage. All the other members of the crowd had disappeared with their families into the other museum exhibits. “Did you get _chills_ watching?” Sans asked.

Grillby rolled his eyes at the forced pun, but couldn’t stop the smile on his face. “Well it certainly was fascinating.”

Sans smiled and took the step off the stage to stand with him, “So, how’d you know I was doing the demonstrations?”

“I didn’t really. I saw you in the lobby finishing a tour. You came here after that.”

“Ah.”

There was a slight pause before Sans spoke again, he gave an amused grin, “I noticed you didn’t volunteer.”

“I would have been the only grown man to have my hand raised, Sans.”

“Didn’t stop you from being the only grown man to suggest going to build-a-bear while in the mall.” Sans teased.

“Technically, you suggested it first.”

Sans put his hands up in defeat, chuckling. The movement drew his attention to his hands, they were still gloved. He suddenly realized the goggles were still on as well. “Oops. Hold on a second.” He excused himself to pull off the lab gear, tossing it in the box with the others.

“I was wondering if you might like to join me for dinner after you get off from work.” Grillby said while Sans’ back was turned.

Sans startled slightly at the unexpected offer, “Oh--uh, yeah! That’s sounds great! Where’d you want to go?”

Grillby touched the back of his neck, “I was thinking we could cook at my place?”

“Your place? As in your house or-”

“Yes, I meant my house, not the restaurant. Is that alright?”

Sans nodded, “I’ll go clock out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the end this chapter is just setting up for the next date, sorry. I kept coming up with more things in my head that I want to include on their dinner date and there was no way it'd be done by today. But I also didn't want to leave you guys waiting till it all gets written out! 
> 
> I apologize to give such a boring chapter after making you guys wait so long. This week was busier than I thought it was going to be, and I didn't have nearly as much time to write as I thought I would. I'll do everything I can to make the next chapter worth the wait!


	8. I Thought this Date Was Going to be About Food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I hadn't put this up on the last chapter but YOOO!! If you haven't already seen Kare-Valgon's "Afterwards" drawings of Sans and Grillby's last date you NEEED to see it!!!! LOOK AT THEM AND THEIR STUFFED ANIMALS!!! --> [link](http://kare-valgon.tumblr.com/post/143897735629/day-4-on-a-dateafter-a-date-another-theme)
> 
> She's also been doing a Sansby OTP Challenge and has a bunch of AMAZING DRAWINGS of these two dorks on her tumblr!
> 
> Getting fanart is totally new to me and OMG I'm in total ecstasy with these drawings!?!?! If you want to draw fanart for this but aren't sure if I like it, DO IT! I WILL LOVE IT TO ABSOLUTE BITS! Tag me, Submit it to my blog, Rub it in my face until I notice it! I promise you I will die and then come back to life to smother you in love and appreciation!!!

Sans dialed his brother’s number, pulling his jacket on with his other hand. Papyrus picked up after the second ring. His loud and curious voice rang out from the other end. “HELLO?” 

Sans rolled his eyes. It was just like his brother to answer without even glancing at the caller id. “Hey Paps, it's me.”

“OH, HI SANS! IS EVERYTHING OKAY?”

“Great actually. I’m getting off of work now, but Grillby invited me over for dinner just now. I felt I should call so you're not holding out on dinner till I got home.”

“OH?! THAT’S WONDERFUL, BROTHER!”

“Mhm. But I'll try to be home in time to see you off before ‘ya head to work.”

“WHAT?! SAAANS! DON’T CUT IT SHORT JUST SO THAT YOU CAN SAY BYE TO ME!!! THAT’S RIDICULOUS! YOU JUST FOCUS ON ENJOYING YOUR DATE! OH, AND DRIVE SAFELY!”

Sans smiled at his brother’s outburst, “Thanks bro. I will.”

He and Papyrus gave one final exchange of ‘good-byes’ before he slipped the phone into his pocket.

The parking lot outside the museum was large but not crowded, as it might have been on the weekend. It took a while to scan the lot, but he spotted Grillby outside his sleek black car without much trouble. Sans spun his keys around his finger, the tinkling sound pulling Grillby’s attention from his phone. “Alright. I'm all set.” Sans said, his eagerness bringing a smile to his face. “Are we going straight to your house or the store for ingredients first?”

“Well I should have enough at the house, but I suppose it depends on what you’re in the mood for?”

Sans waved his hands in front of him with a laugh, “Oh. Anything’s fine by me. You forget that I happily ate a food court burger with every condiment they had to offer.”

“I wouldn't quite say I’ve _forgotten_.” Grillby said, a slight cringe in his shoulders. “You also downed a mouthful of ketchup the night we met.”

Sans gave another laugh, “At this point I feel like I should be reassuring you I eat normal dishes as well. But anyway, what about you? What are you in the mood for?”

Grillby hummed in thought for a while, “hmm… Italian maybe? I could make zuppa toscana.”

“Can't say I know what either of those words just were, but sure, sounds good.’

Grillby chuckled, “It's a spicy potato soup.”

“Well it sounds delicious. Especially if you're making it.”

“You’re far too kind, Sans.” Grillby responded, a soft smile coming across his face.

Sans gave a shrug, “Nah, it’s the truth. So, I- uh guess I’ll be right behind you heading to your house?”

“Right. See you in a bit, then.”

Sans nodded and made his way a few lanes over to where his own car was parked. Of course, as soon as he was in his car he was alone with his thoughts, which never turned out well. He wasn’t even sure why he should be worried. This was Grillby’s planned date, _he_ was the one being invited this time. He wasn’t familiar with the type of dish Grillby mentioned, but he doubted he would dislike it. It was just going to be a nice, simple Italian dinner. 

Oh…Oh no. It was going to be an _Italian_ dinner, and if he learned anything from Lady and the Tramp as a kid it was that Italian dinners usually meant _romantic_. Was Grillby going to try to make it romantic? Was he ready for something like that?

Sans had to look down to glance at what he was currently wearing, even though it should have been obvious what he was currently wearing. He was wearing the white button down shirt and black pants that made up his usual work uniform. Honestly, it was probably as fancy as his wardrobe got. He found he couldn’t remember what Grillby had been wearing himself, but being as he didn’t take specific notice of it, it probably wasn’t any more formal.

Sans made himself relax as he came to a stop at one of the lights. Two fingers slid over the knob to raise the volume of his car radio. Without any cds currently in, the speakers began playing some song he didn’t recognize. Between focusing on the road and the noise he had hoped it would help keep his mind from over thinking things. He hoped it was just the suddenness of Grillby’s invitation that was getting to him.

Self-encouragement wasn’t exactly a thing he did, to say the least. A deep breath, however, could be managed. It helped a little. There was nothing to worry about, he told himself again. On the other hand, he couldn’t leave all the cooking to Grillby, regardless of whether the dinner was his idea or not. Sitting around doing nothing as Grillby cooked was a sure way to make things awkward. 

Was making a soup really a two person job, though? He could always make a side while Grillby made the soup. That was typically how meals were made with his brother. Papyrus was rather possessive when it came to the kitchen; the only times Sans took on the responsibility of cooking a meal was when Paps was sick. However, Papyrus couldn’t reject his help when it came to making sides and desserts. But what was a good side for soup? The obvious answer was crackers, but that didn’t exactly need preparation. Do you even eat crackers with _potato_ soup?

Bread was a possibility, and if they were going to stick to Italian he could make something like a focaccia bread. The only problem was that it took a while to make, what with waiting for the yeast to rise sufficiently before baking. Nevertheless it was the closest thing to a good idea he could come up with.

The internal debate on what food he could offer to make with dinner carried him through to the turn onto Grillby’s road. He took another deep breath. _He was ready. It was going to go fine._. These two lines came close to becoming a mantra in his head as he pulled into the driveway behind the black car. Sans waited till Grillby stepped out of the driver’s seat before opening his own door. “So…” Sans said, walking up to meet him, “Are we going straight to making this zuppa-whatsit?”

That earned an airy chuckle from Grillby and he tugged on his sleeve to look at the time. “Hmm… Well I suppose it _is_ a little early to start dinner...” He lowered his arm and looked at Sans, “Not hungry yet?”

Sans shrugged, following Grillby along the stone path. “I mean, I could eat, buuut I was actually wondering if making some focaccia bread was alright? I don’t know how much of a help I’d be with the soup, and I thought it would be a fitting side dish. The only thing is that it would, ah… take a while.”

Grillby’s eyes widened slightly in surprise and he glanced at Sans while sifting through his keys, “You bake?”

Sans scratched the back of his head with a self-conscious hand, “Only a little. It ain’t anything to brag about. Papyrus’s rather adamant about being the one making meals and such at our house, but I don’t really want to put all that work on him without offering any help, you know? So I often make sides and desserts for the two of us to make up for it.”

Grillby unlocked the door and stepped through, musing out loud. “Huh, yet another thing to put on the list.”

Sans blinked, “What list?”

He gave a wry smile,“Of surprising talents you have.”

Sans snorted, passing through the door Grillby held open. “That’s gotta be a pretty short list.”

“Oh I don’t know. It seems to get longer every time I see you.”

Sans smiled and used the brief pause as Grillby closed the door behind them to take in the interior of the house. Or, what little he could actually see of it from the front entrance. The hallway they were currently standing in was rather narrow, with two doors along the left side of the beige walls. At the end, however, the hallway obviously opened up to a much larger room, and the windows that made up the far wall revealed the wooded area outside of the house. 

Grillby shouldered off the coat he was wearing and placed it within the first door, a small coat closet. He offered to take Sans’ and placed it besides his. “The kitchen’s just past the hallway here.” He said to Sans, taking the lead down the hall.

The room beyond the hall was indeed large, as Sans had expected. The open room contained both a small kitchen in the corner as well as the living room space around a fire place. It felt both rustic and modern at the same time, a similar warm atmosphere to that of the Grillby’s restaurant, though the large windows brightened the house a considerable amount more.

Grillby was already opening up a cupboard by the time Sans joined him in the kitchen. Sans immediately snatched the bowls he pulled down from his hands. “Oh no you don’t.”

Grillby gave a baffled chuckle, “What?”

“You’ve already invited me over _and_ you’re making dinner.” He dropped the bowls onto the counter and cast a stubborn look at Grillby, “ _This_ is _my_ treat.”

Grillby put his hands up in surrender with a laugh, “Alright. But I can at least get the ingredients for you.” He walked over to a narrow wooden door, “What do you need?”

It’d been awhile since the last time he made foccacia. Sans tried to remember everything as he unstacked the bowls. Grillby leaned against the door as Sans began to list, “Flour and yeast of course, olive oil, kosher salt, and… uhh.. Whatever you want to put on top, I guess? Garlic and onions maybe? Or tomato and basil? Whichever floats your boat.”

Grillby smirked, “Aye-aye, captain.”

Sans had already begun searching for a spoon in the drawers, but it only took him a second to realize. “Did you just...” He perked up, calling cheerfully over his shoulder “Am I rubbing off on you?!”

He heard a muffled chuckle in reply past the wall. Grillby reappeared with the yeast, flour, and salt in his hands. “You practically set it up for me.”

Sans smiled, opening the bag of flour as he continued casually, “Ahh, but I always _admiral_ a good joke, set up or otherwise. Besides, when it comes to puns, it usually is all a-boat the timing.”

Grillby shook his head, “See, there’s no way I could keep them up like that.”

“ _Shore_ you could. All it takes is a _hull_ lot of practice.” He dumped a few cups of flour in the largest bowl with the yeast. 

Grillby sighed, turning to get the rest of the ingredients from the pantry, “How is it even possible to have that many boat puns on hand?”

“No topic is safe when you’re a pun mast-er.”

The olive oil, basil, and a two small tomatoes were brought to the counter a few seconds later, “So I see.” Grillby said.

Grillby sat down at one of the stools on the other side of the counter as Sans got to work on starting the dough, which now had warm water added to it. “So focaccia is obviously one,” Grillby said as he watched, “but what else do you usually make for you and your brother?”

“Oh, muffins and pancakes mostly. Beyond that it changes a lot. As long as it’s not anything tricky or complicated I’ll usually give it a go. It’s actually been a while since I’ve made focaccia bread.”

After switching to kneading the dough with his hands for a few more minutes he covered it with the bowl he had mixed it with. “Well, that’s about it until forty minutes or so.”

Grillby nodded in understanding, “Do you want to watch some television to pass the time?”

“Fine by me! I just need a second to wash my hands first.”

“I’ll get some water for the two of us as well.”

“That sounds great, thanks.” After a whole day of talking with crowds Sans was actually feeling quite parched.

Having only needed to rinse his hands, Sans was at the couch first. He didn’t turn the T.V on himself. It wasn’t long before Grillby joined him anyway, handing him one of the two glasses as he sat down besides him. He watched the channels pass by with only partial interest as he took a few sips of the ice-chilled water in his hands. He himself didn’t have any specific channel he’d want to watch, and as channel after channel went by he had a feeling Grillby didn’t either. At one point, however, Grillby backtracked with the remote and stopped on a channel that was playing some singing competition or other. He looked curiously at Sans. He gave a good-natured shrug, “Sure, why not.”

A performance had just ended, so the judges’ critique went in one ear and out the other for the most part, but it appeared whatever he had performed went over well with them. As they began to transition into the next singer, narrating their background as it usually went, Grillby turned to Sans, “Have you ever thought of going on one of these?”

Sans barked, “Ha! Nooo, I would never do anything like this! My singing’s mostly for the shower, I’ll have you know.”

Grillby raised an eyebrow, “And karaoke nights.”

How did he know it was going to turn to this? Sans could already feel his face begin to warm. He tried to give a casual laugh, “Oh, but of course. That certainly wasn’t just an on the whim thing that I would otherwise never consider doing.”

Smooth.

Grillby smiled fondly, though, and shifted his attention back to the screen, where the girl up next was taking her position on the stage. The song was immediately recognizable as ‘Pure Imagination’. It was slower than the original, bare with just the vocal and a guitar. Her voice suited the song rather well, high and pure if just slightly shaky. Sans relaxed onto the couch, moving his feet out a bit more on the floor. Besides him, he could hear the faintest of humming from Grillby as he did something on his phone. He could definitely see the next forty minutes going by peacefully like this, a cold drink, nice music, and comfortable cushions beneath him. Sans sighed as it faded away to an end, and the cameras went to the judges.

“She was pretty good.”

Grillby hummed in agreement, taking a sip of his glass of water. He peeked from his phone at Sans, "Although... I bet you could sing it even better."

Sans snorted, his eyes rolling. "I think your memory's gotten a little fuzzy, Grillby. My singing isn't all that you're cracking it up to be."

Grillby had returned to his phone as the commercials began, but he gave an amused glance up at Sans, "Oh I'd say I remember it quite clearly, actually. That performance was a little too memorable to start to fade in... just over two weeks."

Sans sunk back into the cushion behind him, feeling a little more than slightly embarrassed. "Saying I'm better than she was is still a stretch..." He mumbled.

Sans didn't like the smirk that was creeping on Grillby's face. "Hmmm. Alright. I guess there's only one way to find out."

The same song suddenly began to play from the speaker of Grillby’s phone. Sans erupted with laughter, "You can't be serious."

Oh but he could tell Grillby was quite serious, and he made no movement to turn the music off. He instead watched Sans with expectant eyes, a smug grin on his face. He turned the phone around so the screen was visible to him. Whatever karaoke version Grillby had found did not have any of the instrumental intro it could have had. There wasn’t a second more to wait as the music was already starting where the lyrics entered. Sans took the biggest inhale he could take to make it in time for the first line.

He still missed the first word, but he could still notice Grillby’s smile widening ever so slightly as Sans’ bass voice came out slowly, following the highlight of the words. If Sans had to be honest, it wasn’t that bad of a match for his voice. He could do slow, soft songs rather naturally, it was close to his own preference of music. That is, beyond old pop songs. 

“Take a spin.” As the music swelled a little he leaned closer to Grillby, sweeping a hand before him dramatically towards the distance, or in this case, the wall. “Travelling in a world of my creation.” 

What could he say, there was no way he _couldn’t_ get into a song once he started singing. Especially songs that came from old movies he watched as a child. As he continued singing with his back pressed against Grillby’s shoulder he switched back and forth between moving his arms about with grandiose and clasping his hands together beneath his face. The whole time Grillby’s eyes were on him, sometimes watching his face, other times following the wide gestures of his arms that almost hit him in the face a number of times.

The three words of the final line drew out long, and Sans had to take a deep breath afterwards. As the breath came out he was suddenly aware that the hand that Grillby wasn’t using to hold his phone had moved behind him at some point during the song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, yet again it's been far too long! These recent weeks have been super busy for me and I never got the chance to really sit down and just spend hours on this chapter.
> 
> This chapter still doesn't even get to the end of the dinner date (They haven't even eaten anything yet!!! haha) But FINALLY we have a chapter that it isn't nearly as short as the chapters have been (This one's nearly 3000 words)! Hopefully this will the beginning of several longer chapters in the near future. AND to continue with good news, I do promise the next chapter will be up later this week, and it too will be on the slightly longer side! I'll see you guys soon!!!


	9. It's A Comfortable Feeling, After One Stops Worrying So Much

_Welp, that was a thing that just happened,_ Sans thought to himself. It looked like he was trapped in that position now. Not that Sans was at all against his current proximity to Grillby. By the contrary, there was no way he was moving out of Grillby’s reach. He turned his head towards Grillby, giving him a sly look, “I see what you did there.”

Grillby matched Sans’ gaze. Man, his face was _really_ close. Sans could see his own reflection in Grillby’s glasses. “Oh? And what exactly are you accusing me of doing?”

“Convincing me to sing so that you could get your arm around me.”

He smirked, “And how would I have known you were going to lean in close enough? It was just a happy coincidence.” 

Sans laughed. He stretched his legs further out on the wood floor, situating himself comfortably in the space made between Grillby’s hand and shoulder. The new arrangement was affectionate without feeling too intimate. The new sense of warmth was extremely welcoming, and he could ever so slightly feel the slow rise and fall of Grillby’s breathing. This wasn’t to say that his own heart _wasn’t_ beating a million miles an hour, or the he wasn’t hyperaware of how their legs rested against each other ever so slightly. But _damn_ did it make Sans feel warm inside. Despite all his nerves he was just so comfortable leaning into Grillby’s arm.

The commercial break had already started up again sometime towards the end of the song, and the next performance was already underway. For a while it was quiet between them, both satisfied with just reclining and listening to the songs, sung with varying levels of skill. Even with the limited amount of radio Sans listened to himself he recognized all except a country song that played, to a certain degree. There was a shift of movement in Sans’ peripheral. He gave an exasperated sigh,” _Please_ tell me you aren’t doing what I think you’re doing.”

Grillby paused, but only for a second before resuming his task on the phone. He made no attempt to shield his phone’s screen from Sans, which was clearly still on youtube. 

“Ohhoho, no. No! Grillby, come on! you’re absolutely killing me over here!”

He looked up, lowering his phone. “Killing you? But you did so well last time.”

Sans didn’t give in, holding his stare. 

“What if I let you pick from the songs this time?” Grillby suggested, a slight laugh in his words.

Sans rolled his eyes, “I don’t even know half the songs well enough to sing the lyrics.”

“Are you saying you want me to pick for you?”

Sans laughed, “Oh no. I’m picking the song. You’re already getting too much enjoyment out of this.”

He couldn’t think of any from last bunch of songs that he especially wanted to sing. Only its sheer popularity and repetition made one of the songs stand out. He had heard it on the radio enough times to know… most of the lyrics? Sans pulled out his own phone and typed in ‘Chandelier’. Okay scratch that statement about knowing the lyrics, he didn’t freaking know how the song even started. Then again, he supposed that was why the lyrics were provided on most of these videos anyway. He started the music on his phone, bringing the volume up as much as he could. 

It was going well enough. He still didn’t particularly care for the song. At least it was getting to the part he knew. Wait... Oh god, he made a mistake. Those notes were pushing the upper limits of his range, and he was all too aware of the one word coming up, the freaking title of the song no less, would be impossible. There was just no way he was going to be able to go that high. There was only one way to deal with a note like that, and that was to scream it out and throw tone out the window. Which was exactly what he did, and immediately fell in a fit of laughter.

While Sans himself had doubled over, he felt the small bounce Grillby’s own laughter through the cushions of the couch. The song continued on without him, but there was just no way he was getting back into it. It was a little while until Sans was finally composed himself enough to return to his previous relaxed sitting position, and even then a hand was still over his face as a last number of laughs shook his shoulders. “What was that about not wanting me to get too much enjoyment from this?” Came Grillby’s amused voice from behind him.

“The song’s still going Grillby.” Sans informed him, “I’d love to hear you try to hit that note.”

The two of them watched the words pass on the screen, coming once again to where a high note would have been. Neither made the attempt to actually sing it, and instead another round of laughter rose from the two of them. Sans shook his head and pressed a thumb to the screen, cutting the video as the commercial break ended, “Okay, okay” He breathed between laughs, “I think that’s enough.”

Watching the show had somehow turned into a sort of game now, Sans listening to the different song choices and trying to figure out which song Grillby would ask him to sing, or which song he would choose if given the choice. On the last song of the ten minute segment of the show, however, Sans had a different idea. He stopped Grillby from lifting his phone as the judges started saying… whatever they were saying. He had stopped caring about the actual outcomes of the song a while ago. “Uh-uh. Put that phone down. It’s your turn this time! I ain’t going three times without you doing at least one song.”

Grillby looked slightly taken aback but did as Sans said, sliding his phone into his pocket. Sans already knew the exact song from the last batch he’d have Grillby sing. Not a second after Grillby’s phone was away, Sans had the list of results he wanted displayed on his own.

“Singing isn’t really my thing…” Grillby said, trying to back out, but Sans wasn’t taking any excuses.

“ ‘Only one way to find out’.” Sans mimicked with a grin, and flipped the screen over for Grillby to see as he pulled one of videos up.

Grillby admitted defeat and took a breath. Sans leaned back into Grillby’s arm, holding out the phone at one side while Grillby held it on the other. Grillby’s voice came softly, like it was floating on the air instead of through it as other sounds did. “Well I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord.” His voice wavered slightly, but not so much that it was unpleasant.

Sans smiled slightly, proud of his choice. Honestly Grillby could have just read the lyrics in his calm, smooth voice and it would have sounded amazing to Sans. There wasn’t much strength to his singing voice, even in the parts of the song where most of the other versions of the song would have picked up intensity. Whether that was from Grillby’s nervousness or otherwise Sans didn’t really care. He suddenly couldn’t think of anything else Grillby’s voice could have sounded like. Sans closed his eyes as he listened, pulled in as if he was listening to a lullaby. Way too soon the song ended, and Sans let out a huge satisfied sigh, “Welp, I can die happy now.”

He smiled as he felt a tremor of a laugh come from Grillby’s chest.

When the show came back from commercials this time there was an added air of tension, the both of them listening intently to each song, not to give much attention to the person singing it, but putting careful consideration to which song they wanted the other to sing. The moment of fate came as the screen faded away and transitioned to commercial.

Sans stared at Grillby with a challenging glare, daring him to move first to type in a song. What either of them planned to do if the other made the first move, Sans had no idea. Yet, before either of them could break the ridiculous stare-down themselves, a piercing beeping sound came from the kitchen. A ghost of a grin came across Grillby’s face, and he shook his head in exaggerated disappointment as he exchanged the phone in his hands for the remote. He slid his arm down and out from under Sans, “Well I guess that’s the forty minutes of waiting. What a shame.”

He offered his hand to Sans as soon as he himself was on his feet. The two made their way to the kitchen, Sans transferring the slightly thicker dough into a pan while Grillby headed into the pantry to begin getting his own ingredients to start the soup.

All that Sans had to do with the dough was make divots into it, placing the basil and tomato in as he went. So, once the dough was covered with a damp towel and left to rise again he positioned himself on the other side of the counter, in the seat Grillby had taken before. 

Chopped onions and garlic sat on a plate in front of him, and Grillby had some sort of sausage in the oven already. He watched Grillby’s back, currently frying bacon over the stovetop. Sans took a large breath, taking in the wonderful smell that was now wafting through the room.

It was hard to even keep track of everything that was going on. Grillby transferred the bacon to yet another plate, and threw the onion and garlic into the pan it had been in. Minutes later, the sausage was removed from the oven, and he moved on to pour a bunch of ingredients into the large pan with the onion and garlic. This was exactly why Sans prefered baking over cooking recipes such as this. There were so many things going on at once. Had he attempted to make this soup, he was sure he would have burnt something, or all of it. Yet Grillby moved about the kitchen effortlessly, as if he had the whole thing choreographed perfectly, like a dance. 

Sans let out a low whistle as Grillby took a step back from the pan now simmering on the stove, “Take a bow, Grillby. That was impressive.”

Grillby turned as he wiped his hands on a towel, somewhat confused by Sans’ remark. “Hmm?”

“You were completely in the zone there, moving about like hot stuff with those pans and plates.”

Grillby rolled his eyes, “Starting with the puns again, are we?”

“What can I say? It takes a lot before I burn myself out.”

“Obviously. On the other hand, I’d be careful. It doesn’t take that much to inflame others with them.” Grillby said with a laugh.

Sans lit up, lifting his head from their resting place on his hands. “Haha! Yesss!! I _am_ rubbing off on you!”

Grillby cracked a smile, “Unfortunately.”

The oven was set to the temperature Sans needed for the bread, and Grillby punched in the minutes to let the soup simmer. They chose to spend the next few minutes simply sitting quietly in each other’s company, watching the timer tick away and enjoying the smell of the food cooking. Eventually Grillby shifted to face him, “Would you mind helping me set the table outside?”

“Not at all. What do you need me to do?”

“Would you move the table cloth there to the one outside? I’m going to see how many candles I can find lying about the house.”

“Dinner by candlelight? How fancy.” Sans teased. Somehow the idea of a romantic dinner date felt a lot less intimidating than it had before.  
“I’ll pull out the good wine and everything.” Grillby returned.

Sans laughed, “Well I should hope so. You _are_ a bartender for godsake.”

They split up to grab various things for the outdoor dinner. The tablecloth was a little long for the small table and pooled ever so slightly on the ground, and the candles were of mismatched in shades of white and pattern, but Grillby believed they weren’t scent. Or, at least, most of them. They spread the candles along the railing and table on the deck, and pulled the cushions for the chairs from where they had been stored to keep dry. Sans ran back inside to finally place the bread in the oven, coming back to help Grillby light the candles one by one. 

After lighting the last of his share, Sans leaned on the railing, enjoying the soft breeze while the last rays of light shown through the trees cast the rest of the world in hues of orange and pink. He heard Grillby’s footsteps on the deck behind him. “I have to admit, Grillby, it is really nice out here.”

Grillby placed his own hands on the railing beside him, “I’m glad. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the weather. It could have been too hot, or too windy. I suppose being inside wouldn’t have been so bad...”

“Yeah. The food will taste amazing regardless.” Sans said, shifting his gaze from the filtered sunset to Grillby.

And he was caught completely off-guard. Holy shit was Grillby gorgeous, even more so in the soft lighting of the sunset and candles. The ends of his hair caught the light, causing the tips to be cast in vibrant color, like small wisps of fire. A gentle smile was currently on his face, softening his features as he looked out at the trees as Sans had. “Well that’s the plan, and I appreciate the confidence you have in my cooking,” Grillby said turning towards Sans, who immediately tried to act like he hadn’t just been staring at him, jaw practically hanging, “but you haven’t even tried it yet.”

“Grillbz, I literally watched you make the dish. There was nothing that would make me come even close to disliking it. It’s going to be amazing.”

“Well then we better finish it and bring it out here, shouldn’t we?”

Sans nodded, and followed him inside. The bread wasn’t quite done yet, so Sans helped Grillby add the last touches to the soup, chopping the spinach while Grillby cut the sausage. He earned a look from Grillby when he snagged a bit of bacon from the plate before it too was added to the pan. With the last of the ingredients now in there the pan was left to simmer one last time, leaving only the dishes and glasses to be grabbed from the cabinets.

At long last both the toscana and foccacia were finished, and they were immediately put on their corresponding dishes and rushed eagerly to the table outside. Sans cut a piece of the foccacia for he and Grillby, placing it on the plates their bowls rested on. Grillby poured a half glass of wine in both glasses. They took a brief moment to take in the table, but the smell of the food quickly brought them to their seats. Sans took a spoonful of the soup while Grillby lifted his slice of bread, and with a nod between the two of them they tasted the other’s prepared food. The potato soup was even better than Sans had hoped. The Italian sausage and red pepper flakes bringing heat to the otherwise creamy and savory soup. Sans gave a loud content hum, “Oh my god, Grillby. Dude, this is ridiculously good.”

“Likewise with your foccacia. It’s delicious.”

They switched and tried their own this time, and much to Sans’ relief the bread really had turned out well. It was crispy on top yet fluffy in the middle. He made a mental note to make some for Papyrus next time his brother made spaghetti, which to be honest, would be tomorrow. However, there was currently a whole bowl of the soup in front of him, which eating was an absolute top priority. Once both of them had made significant dents in their food and drink they talked casually between themselves. Grillby asked what working at the museum was like and what Sans’ favorite events had been in the past. Sans got Grillby talking about hilarious bar stories and the karaoke nights.

The sun had long past, and their dinner had been finished a while ago when they finally ran out of conversation. Sans moved alongside Grillby, carrying in the dishes and tablecloth. “Are you going to head out now?” Grillby asked, emptying his load of dishes into the sink after Sans.

“Yeah, except I figured I’d help with dishes before going.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.” Sans insisted.

Sans took the sponge and soap to the pans and tins, and Grillby did the same with the plates and bowls. A few times their elbows would touch the other, or their clothing brushed each other as they moved to and from the dishwasher and sink. The first few times it happened an apology would be given, but eventually the apologies became small, knowing glances between the two. Sans might have even done so intentionally a few times towards the end. Might.

Grillby handed a towel to Sans after the dishwasher was loaded and closed. “Thanks for helping out, Sans. And for the bread too.”

Sans shrugged, “Ahh, it was the least I could do, you know?”

They walked down the hall towards the front door, Grillby grabbing Sans’ coat from the closet. “You have everything, right?” Grillby doubled checked after Sans slipped on the blue jacket.

“Yup, it’s all here.” He grabbed the door and held it open before Grillby could.

Grillby walked with him to his car, leaning on the door as Sans slipped into the seat. “I realize it was incredibly short notice, but I’m really glad you came over.” Grillby said.

“I’m seriously glad too. I had a really good time.”

Grillby smiled, “Drive safely, Sans.”

He returned the smile tenfold, “Will do. Goodnight, Grillby.”

“Goodnight Sans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally, when I said 'later this week' I was thinking I'd have it done by Thursday. I had both Wednesday and Thursday off of work and I had it all figured out that I'd relax and draw the last requests I had Wednesday and then just spend the whole day writing Thursday. And then I got a call and was asked if I could be there in like an hour and do the closing shift. I don't know how people do it, How does one successfully make a plan and achieve it?! 
> 
> I guess I can't be too mad, technically its still the same week. I've been writing practically all day, but I think I'm glad with how it turned out? Also, I have a little Sansby snack (completely unrelated to Chasing Fire) that's almost done for you guys, in the form of a one-shot ;)


	10. My Fire's Already Lit, but Here We Go Again (pt.1)

Sans began to stop at Grillby’s for dinner after work. Nothing exceptionally special came from the visits, but there was a new sense of comfort that came over Sans when they were in each other's presence now. A part of him knew that Papyrus probably wouldn’t approve of him eating out everyday, especially since it also meant Sans wouldn’t be home to try his ever-changing spaghetti experiments. But for the week, it was nice. Being mindful that Grillby was working during these meals, the two didn’t really talk more than fleeting small talk. Sans would ask Grillby what he thought he should order each time, gradually working his way through the menu with each visit. The rest of their conversations generally revolved around their daily lives; what events were going on at the museum, what new recipes Grillby had found. On one of those visits that week Grillby mentioned there would be another karaoke night that Saturday. He never specifically asked Sans if he would come, they both knew there was no way Sans would pass up the occasion.

Sans also included Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys, asking if they were interested in coming to the karaoke night. It was an immediate ‘yes’ from all of them.

Sans woke up that Saturday after Paps came home from his security job, each of the brothers making sure the other one was properly taken care of before Sans had to leave for work. Papyrus made Sans a lunch, while Sans made breakfast for Papyrus and himself. The whole day Sans kept thinking back to that one Saturday night, almost a whole month ago. It carried him through work with a near constant smile spread across his face, and not the typical ‘smile at everyone until it’s practically uncomfortable for both of you’ that was unofficially in any job description. Somehow, time seemed to fly and drag on at the same time. 

Once home, Sans exchanged his work clothes for his hoodie and shorts. He picked his phone up from the dresser he had left it on. It was close to six, still a while before Alphys and Undyne would arrive. The four of them had decided to meet at Pap’s and his house first before carpooling to the restaurant together. But in the meantime, he’d need something to kill the time between then and when now. A pie recipe Toriel had given him a few days ago fit that bill well. The recipe had been handed to him when he had told her about his baking endeavors. A quick scan of the recipe told Sans Toriel was a fair amount more knowledgeable about baking than himself, and it looked like an original recipe too. He crossed his fingers as he put the uncooked pie in the oven. It was more complicated than his usual muffins or bread. He could only hope he had followed the instructions close enough.

A groggy Papyrus came in while Sans was waiting the last few minutes for it to crisp up. He yawned loudly, rubbing his eye as he seated himself at the counter. Sans smiled, “Hey Paps, ready for tonight?”

Papyrus eyes immediately lit up, as did the rest of him. In the time that it took Sans to blink his brother went from being half-asleep to practically bouncing off of his seat in excitement. With a silent laugh, Sans wished he was able to wake that fast. “NYYEEEH! OF COURSE! IT’S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN, I CAN FEEL IT!” 

“Yeah?”

“YES!!! ALSO I WILL FINALLY MEET GRILLBY, WHICH IS ENOUGH TO BE EXCITED FOR BY ITSELF!”

Sans blinked, having to take a moment to think before realizing what his brother said was true. “Oh... huh, I guess you’re right. I should have brought you along for dinner there to introduce you two. Sorry.”

“GAH! THERE’S NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE, SANS! I COULDN’T POSSIBLY BOTHER YOUR TIME WITH HIM.”

For a brief moment Sans’ mind flashed to the last karaoke night, a smidgen of the guilt from that time resurfacing. “Aww, come on, bro. You could never be a both-” long beeping tones sounded from behind him, catching him off guard. He quickly pulled the oven gloves on and reached into the oven for the finished pie. It didn’t too look bad. Maybe a few places where the crust got over-cooked. Sans only hoped the taste would be as good as its appearance seemed to promise.

Papyrus looked curiously at the dish in his brother’s hands, “WHAT IS THAT? A QUICHE?”

Sans looked at Papyrus and back to the pie, “What? No, it’s… a pie. It _is_ the first time I’ve tried something bigger, so I guess it bound to look a little weird--”

The stool slid noisily on the tile floor as Papyrus suddenly stood up in surprise. The smile Sans hadn’t registered on his brother’s face was replaced with panicked worry. “AAAAHHH NONONO! SAAANS! I WAS JOKING!!! OH MY GOD, I WAS JOKING! I SWEAR!!!”

“Oh.”

Seconds later Sans started cracking up, and his laughter was eventually joined by Papyrus’. Sans put the pie aside to cool and took a seat besides Papyrus, a last few chuckles bubbling in his chest. Papyrus was smiling, “I CAN’T WAIT TO TRY IT WHEN WE GET BACK.”

“Hehe. Well, no promises on how it actually tastes.”

“I’M SURE IT WILL BE ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I’M REALLY GLAD YOU STARTED BAKING AGAIN!”

Sans’ brows moved closer together ever so slightly, forgetting to reply. Had he stopped baking? Sans had made the foccacia bread for himself and Papyrus shortly following his date with Grillby. But what about before then? Sans struggled to remember the last thing he had made, and when. He hadn’t thought it was _that_ long ago, but now that he thought about it… he could be wrong.

Luckily for Sans, Papyrus was always quick to break the silence, “ALL ARTISTS HIT ROADBLOCKS OR LOSE INSPIRATION AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER THOUGH!” He reassured him.

Sans laughed, “Well I hardly would call my cooking an art. But just wait until you have some of Grillby’s food! _His food_ definitely is.”

Papyrus’ face softened, a new smile spreading across it. Sans raised a curious eyebrow, “What’s _that_ look for?”

Papyrus laughed, his smile stretched from ear to ear, in its usual goofy shape. “WHAT LOOK? THIS IS JUST MY FACE!!!”

Sans looked at Papyrus even more questioningly, but gave up when his brother showed no sign of sharing his thoughts with him. They waited together for Undyne and Alphys, the two coming right at the time they had agreed on. Sans made a hurried run through of things he needed while Papyrus went and got his shoes on. With an afterthought, Sans moved the money he had put in his wallet to his pocket instead. He was ready to go, joining the others to pile into Undyne’s car, though Sans was certain it would probably be Paps driving the four of them home by the end of the night. However, there were only two seats in the red convertible that belonged to his brother, and Sans’ own car wouldn’t exactly make for a pleasant ride for whoever got stuck in the back with old takeout paper bags and wrappers.

Grillby’s place was noticeably livelier than it usually was, even from the outside. The parking lot, normally filled with just a handful of cars, only had a few open spaces left for Undyne’s black truck. The group of friends gave each other exchanges of varying grins with a silent buzz of excitement before making their way to the two glass doors of the restaurant. Sans’ mood grew as he took in a breath of fresh greasy air. A very drunken rendition of some new pop song came through the now open doors, too slurred to even make out which song. Sans and Undyne erupted with laughter at the harsh sound.

Sans was quick to spot Grillby, his slim figure standing at one of the smaller tables, taking orders. Sans held his gaze until Grillby turned from the table, locking eyes with him. Sans caught the smile that spread on his face before he hurried off to deliver the order to the kitchen. Harley was there as well, bounding over to Sans and his group of friends. “Sans! Oh thank god you’re here! You _need_ to get yourself up there before someone hurts themselves, or me, with their singing.”

Sans laughed with a shake of his head, “No worries, Harley. I plan on it.”

Her eyes were practically shining with excitement, “Yes! You’re a hero, Sans.”

“Can we get a table now?”

She swatted his head with her handful of menus, “Rude! I know how to do my freaking job, Sans!”

As she led them away from the entrance, a few other of the regular patrons shouted at Sans, some simply in greetings while others urged him as Harley had to do a song. Harley sat them at one of the booths against the front windows, right across from the stage. “Don’t keep us waiting too long.” She said, shaking a finger.

Undyne gave an amused look at Sans as Harley walked away, “You’ve made quite a name for yourself here, haven’t you?”

He shrugged, “What can I say?”

The kitchen door swung open again, and Grillby made his way straight to their table. “I’m glad you guys could make it.” He said,

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Grillbz.”

Papyrus gave a sharp jab to his arm, and cleared his throat. “Oh yeah, Grillby, this is Paps. You never officially met him.”

Papyrus’ hand shot out just inches in front of Sans, extending it to Grillby, “IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU.”

Grillby smiled and took his hand, “Likewise.”

Grillby turned to include Undyne and Alphys, “It’s nice to see you two again as well.”

“O-oh! Yeah!”

Undyne gave one of her big grins, “Hey, Sans. When are these manners gonna rub off on you, huh?” 

He only snorted in response, earning another jab from Papyrus, “WELL YOU WOULD CERTAINLY BENEFIT FROM SOME GOOD MANNERS, SANS.”

 

“Geez, here we are at a restaurant and the only thing getting served is me.”  
A mixture of groans and laughs rose from the table. “Well I can fix that.” Grillby said once his own rumble of a laugh had settled. “It’s kind of my job.”

“Gosh, we’ve b-been keeping from working, haven’t we? And it’s rather busy here tonight.” Alphys answered.

“Not at all, I enjoy talking with all of you.”

Sans gave a smirk, “Oh yeah? You like being able to slack off at your job, do ya?”

“I said no such thing.”

“Uh huh.”

“SANS, YOU’RE JUST HOLDING HIM UP EVEN LONGER!!!”

“Right, sorry Grillby. Don’t want you to get fired, now do we?”

“OH MY GOD, SANS!! YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE! IF YOU’LL PARDON MY BROTHER, GRILLBY, I’LL ACTUALLY ORDER SOMETHING.”

Grillby smiled, “Of course, what would you like Papyrus?”

“I’LL HAVE THE SHRIMP SCAMPI, PLEASE. AND A GLASS OF WATER.”

“Alright, and is anyone else ready to order?”

“YEAH! Hit me up with a fish and chips platter with Jalapeno poppers! And Iced tea!”

“I’ll have the bacon burger and an orange crush, please.”

“And you, Sans?”

Sans shrugged, “Just a classic ‘burg is fine. Surprise me with an appetizer this time.”

He nodded and jotted something down after a moment’s thought. The others immediately delved into a new, loud, conversation, but Sans only partially listened. He watched Grillby head back to the kitchen doors with their orders. He paused at the doors and cast a glance behind him back at Sans, the two smiled at each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is not the whole chapter, but the chapter isn't quite done I need to leave for work in like.... 10 minutes, and I won't be back till late tonight. So here's the first half or so of the chapter! I thought it ended at a good enough place for an end of a chapter. I'm still working on the second half of this so keep an eye out for it soon! I'll submit part 2 as a separate chapter at first and then combine them after a day or so of them both being up, just so people are notified at first.
> 
> In other news, since I'm pretty sure most if not all of you didn't see the post I made, I'm officially in college now. So... uhh, because of this I want to end Chasing Fire. And in the next few chapters. NOW HOLD ON, This doesn't mean I'm not going to be writing Sansby!!!! OH NO, I'm not done with this ship at all! It's just, I don't like keeping people waiting for Chasing Fire updates and I didn't really know where I wanted to go with it. So instead, I actually made something that will hopefully feel like an ending and anything that didn't make the cut that I had planned with go into a series of works of small and not so small Sansby stories. Not all of them will be Human au or fit into the Chasing Fire timeline, but I do have a few ideas that I either wanted to include eventually in Chasing Fire (After Sans and Grillby are deeper in their relationship) or a short prompt ideas I came up with during my time writing this! So yeah, Chasing Fire has... 3-ish more chapters, and then it'll be more sporadic updates of random Sansby bits!


	11. My Fire's Already Lit (pt.2)

There were a few more brave, or drunk, souls that found their way onto the small wooden stage while the small group waited for their food. The songs were either belted or sung in an incoherent mumble, and never a song that fell between the two extremes. In the lapse of karaoke performances, an ambient jazz melody floated quietly over the amiable chatter of the place. Conversation at their table was a constant buzz thanks to inexhaustible energy both Papyrus and Undyne possessed. With the warm stream of conversation combined with his own peppering of terrible jokes and puns, Sans had never felt more content.

The moment could only get better with the food brought to their table. Sans let out a slow whistle as Grillby approached with a cart carrying the platters. “Hey there, hot stuff.”

Grillby pretended to be unaffected by the statement, but Sans was aware of his boyfriend’s subtle expressions while he was in ‘professional mode’. Sans prided himself with becoming the master of reading that subtlety in the past week, of which included the noise of Grillby clearing his throat made in response. Sans made a victorious grin, knowing he had caught him off-guard with that comment. “Oh, well I suppose you’re made of rather hot stuff too Grillbz, but I was talking about the food.” Sans teased.

That earned a quiet snort from Grillby. On the other hand, in now means a master of subtlety, Undyne did her best not to spray her iced tea across the table.

It wasn’t a shock to anyone that the food was absolutely delicious. A pleased sigh came from each member of the group. It almost came across as ridiculous when Grillby came back over and asked how the food was, like there was even a question. Sans’ surprise item was deep-fried mozzarella bites, perfectly crispy on the outside and melted cheese that stretched beyond Sans’ expectations. This was definitely a close contestant to Grillby’s mind-blowing fries.

About halfway through their meals the friends ordered a first round of beers. Well, all save for Paps, who, as the great and respectable designated driver that he was, pointedly ordered a glass of milk for himself in addition to the other drinks. Things remained… mildly tame after the first round. As tame as his brother and Undyne’s piercing laughter and hollering could be considered.

A while beyond the first drinks however, a warm buzz inside Sans told him it was showtime. He raised a challenging gaze to Undyne, “Any complaints ‘bout me taking the first song?”

She cackled, “WHY WOULD I?”

“Not afraid I’d set a hard act to follow?”

Her eyes widened a moment before her face settled into devilish delight, “WHAT?! You forgett’n who you’re talking to?! You better believe I’m getting on that stage after you, and it’s gonna be fan-flippin-tastic YA HEAR?!”

The two exchanged eager smiles, and Sans managed to catch Grillby’s attention after delivering an order to another table in the room. Papyrus let out an exaggerated sigh, “OH DEAR. HERE WE GO…”

Sans nudged at his brother, much as Paps had done to him before. “Relaaax bro. I know what I’m doing.”

His brother rolled his eyes, “THAT’S THE PART THAT WORRIES ME.”

Sans patted Paps reassuredly, but it was obvious Papyrus wasn't even close to feeling reassured. If anything the gesture seemed to make Papyrus even more apprehensive of what Sans was about to do. Whatever it was that might be. Sans _did_ in fact know what he was doing. He had it planned out in his head before they had left the house.

Grillby offered a smile as he stopped in front of their table, “Can I do something for you, Sans?”  
“Yeah, could I get my bill? I’m ready to wrap this up.”

Undyne raised her brow curiously, “What, you cutting yourself off already?”

He shrugged, “Eh, I might come round to getting another drink or something, but I’ll take the bill now.”

Grillby nodded, “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you, Grillby.” Sans drawled, and Grillby nodded kindly as he turned away.

There was a bit of an awkward silence waiting for Grillby to come back. Undyne and Papyrus were making suspicious glances at Sans, trying to figure out what he was up to. He wasn’t planning on giving anything away, pointedly ignoring the looks by drinking the last of the bottle in front of him.

Grillby was back with the slip of paper quickly, and Sans reached into the pocket he already knew was empty. He pulled out the fabric of the pocket so that it stuck out past the zipper. Sans widened his eyes, looking back up at Grillby. “Well damn, looks like I forgot cash at home.”

Papyrus practically exploded in mortification besides him, “WHAT?! AFTER ALL THE TIME SPENT MAKING SURE WE WERE READY?! HOW COULD YOU FORGET TO BRING _MONEY_?!”

“Believe me, I’m just as shocked as you are, Paps." He said, a hand pressed to his chest, "This is truly an unexpected turn of events."

He gazed back up at Grillby, his head tilted curiously, "You wouldn’t happen to take any alternative forms of payment, would you Grillbz? Maybe I could make it up to you with a song?”

Papyrus sputtered, “SANS THAT’S NOT HOW ECONOMICS WORKS AT ALL!”

“What are you talking about? An exchange of goods and services is totally a part of economics, bro. Isn’t that right, Grillby?”

Grillby rubbed his chin in excessive contemplation, a ghost of a smile managing to break through the act ever so slightly, “Hmmm... Yes, I’d say a song might cover the cost of the meal.”

Papyrus looked like he was about to flip the table in frustrated bewilderment, unable to form any complete sentences through his disbelief. Sans rested a hand on his arm, “It’s okay, Paps. You’ll understand economics more when you’re my age.”

Sans laughed as the sputters turned into something closer to an annoyed howl, and slid himself from the cushioned seat of the booth. He was grateful there wasn’t anyone currently at the stage, or setting up a song. The dj nodded knowingly at Sans and turned the screen around for him to see. Sans had a particular song in mind this time around. He had done some looking around the past few days, something that’d tie in with that first performance in one way or another. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind he’d make an impression, just… maybe not quite as much as that night.

Sans held eye contact with Grillby on his way up the stage, who surprisingly still stood at their table. A smirk came across Sans’ face, knowing he had his attention despite how busy the place was. He ran his gaze across the people in the building as he took the microphone in a hand. He pulled it intentionally closer to his face that necessary, causing his words to rumble loudly over the speakers,“This song goes to the fine owner of this establishment.” A few whistles sounded from various tables as he threw a wink at Grillby, “How you doing tonight, Grillby?”

Grillby was determined to keep true to his usual professional composure, appearing only slightly amused by the flirtation. It only succeeded in encouraging Sans.

“No words, huh? Well,” He cleared his throat, a low laugh rolling in his voice, “I might as well take your breath away while I’m at it, don’t you think?”

Grillby rolled his eyes, but put no effort in hiding the laugh that joined with the others’. A piercing ‘owOW!’ came from Harley over at the hostess podium. Sans turned on his feet and gave a nod to the dj. As the guitar and piano came in Sans, twisted back and forth on the toes of his feet, lowering his body with each movement before pulling himself straight again to turn to the rest of the building. “LORD ALMIGHTY! I feel my temperature rising!” His voice rang out, powerful and confident.

From the table Undyne hollered in ecstatic disbelief, carrying over several other encouraging shouts from various places. The brief gap in the lyrics provided Sans with just enough time to see Grillby’s eyes brighten as a snort of laughter escaped him in his surprise. Sans raised a hand above his head as his knees dipped, “Higher, higher! It’s burning through to my soul!”

He inched closer to the edge of the stage, in step with the rhythm of the words, “Grillbz, Grillbz, Grillbz, you gonna set me on fire!”

Sans swung himself into a dance on the edge of the stage, bringing himself through to the end of the chorus, “You light my morning sky--” He leapt down off of the stage, “with Burning Love!”

He supported himself dramatically against the stage, a hand on his forehead, “Oo-hoo hoo I feel my temperature rising!” He sunk lower, eyes falling back on Grillby, “Help me, I’m flaming! I must be a hundred and nine!”

He let himself draw closer and closer to Grillby as he moved, gesturing for him to do likewise. He was close enough to lean in at the end of the verse, and he beckoned Grillby lower with a finger. The last word ended in a hum from his mouth as Grillby followed and delivered a kiss to it. The start of the small instrumental break was completely covered up by the whistling and caterwauling, the loudest of which coming unsurprisingly from the table directly to his left. It did come to a bit of his shock that it wasn't just Undyne, but Alphys too.

He laughed and ran back to the stage, jumping onto it to sing the last portion of the song. His movements were wider and more exaggerated, purposefully coming close to falling over at certain points. He fell to his knees on last repeat of the chorus, before jumping back to his feet with new fueled energy to tackle to last strings.

“I'm just a Hunk-a-hunk of burning love! I'm just a Hunk-a-hunk of burning love! Grillby's a Hunk-a-hunk of burning love! You know are! A hunk-a-hunk of burning love!"

When the music fell he walked back to the stand, and put the microphone back to its spot as cheers met him. He took a step back and gave a deep bow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry you guys waited a whole semester for this. This was exactly what I wanted to AVOID. The last chapters didn't get finished before school started for me and then after that I struggled to find the time to get myself into a writing zone between my job and commuting an hour for school. It's not a terrible commute tbh but whenever I found free time, I admittedly drew things instead of writing. I love writing, but art helps me de-stress and relax more, which I needed in any breaks between a really busy schedule. Again, I'm really sorry for the wait, I'm going to try to make it up by finishing Chasing Fire and hopefully some short stories during my break. I'm still working, but I don't get an insane amount of hours and without school in my schedule I'll have SO MUCH more time to do my own things!!
> 
> Ideally I would have liked to have had this up this morning, but yesterday I was busy with work and family till around 11 and by then I was exhausted. I thought I'd have plenty time today to post it but apparently we had plans to visit more family. 
> 
> Hopefully for some of you this will be one last Christmas gift before you go to bed? I hope everyone had a happy and safe weekend, and that you're all enjoying a winter break! A huge thanks to all of you who are still sticking around to read this!


End file.
